


He's Mine

by makuroshi



Category: Free!
Genre: Awkward First Times, Dorky! Rei, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Not really yandere but close, Possessive! Nagisa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:03:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2310590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makuroshi/pseuds/makuroshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hazuki Nagisa has a secret trait that no one else knew about. He is possessive, sometime extremely so, and he's willing to do anything to protect things that are rightfully his. And that includes Rei-chan.</p><p>(edited and cross-posted from FF.net!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Possessive

**Author's Note:**

> 13 chapters in and only now did I realize that I didn't post this on AO3. *facepalms*  
> If you've read this on FF, I really appreciate it if you'd leave kudos/comments here! ♥

Hazuki Nagisa has a secret trait that no one else knew about.

He is possessive, and sometimes exceedingly so.

He had first become aware of this quirky dark side of his usually cheerful, bubbly and jovial personality when he was in 5th grade. Standing at only 135cm, the 11 years old Nagisa was one of the shortest boys of his class, if not of the whole school. With a lithe frame and brilliant dark pink irises, his silky blonde locks accentuated his girlish features, making him look even more vulnerable and helpless. Add in an equally feminine name and voila, a perfect target of bullying and harassment.

It was not like Nagisa was too weak to fight back. After all, he  _was_  a member of the school's swim team, and a breaststroke swimmer at that, so his upper torso was unquestionably more built and defined than most. He could fight back if he wanted to (and if he did, he might've won), but he had things of far greater importance to accomplish in his life -like training harder for their upcoming relay event- so he always paid the bullies no heed when they whistled at him, called him names (nothing too nasty, just plain 'sissy' or 'loser') or whisper behind his back. In any case, the bullies were a minority; all the other kids loved being around him as his joyful aura was contagious.

They could go on and make fun of his name, jeer at him, taunt or mock him all they want, and Nagisa would simply smile merrily, not one bit miffed or bothered.

But no one,  _no one,_ messes with his things.

* * *

"Hey, prissy-pants. Mind sharing your lunch with us?"

Nagisa looked up to see four boys towering above him, evil intentions clearly portrayed on their faces. These were the boys who had continuously teased him, but always from far. God knows what made them want to approach him this time around. Maybe luck was just not in his favour.

"Waiting for your swimming seniors again? Hah! You and your girly-named friends must be pretty  _chummy_  with each other, huh?

The tallest one snatched away the lunch box from his left hand. Tiny grains of rice fell onto the ground, along with the octopus-shaped sausages, egg rolls and carrot slices his mother had painstakingly carved into little petals of flowers. Nagisa winced involuntarily.

"A girly bentou for a girly boy! Ohhhh, and what's this? A photograph?"

Another boy –lightly freckled and a bit tanned- grabbed his left hand and pried the photograph he had been looking at a few minutes ago away from his grasps. It was the memorial photo of their swimming quartet right after winning the relay, in which Haru-chan looked downright reluctant (but he was quite sure the tsundere freestyle swimmer was happy inside) while Rin-chan and Mako-chan grinned toothily; a sight he would surely come to miss once the three graduates elementary, leaving him lagging behind. Rin-chan would be leaving Japan for Australia soon, so the picture might as well be one of the last he could have of the wine-haired teammate. It was the last event they entered as a relay team too, seeing that Haru-chan had rejected any future plans of relay competitions.

The photograph held many pleasant memories. It was his treasure.

' _This boy is going to tear it apart. I know he's going to.'_

In that instant, his heartbeat steadily increased rapidly, anger and irritation contorting his facial muscles that were so accustomed to smiles into making an expression so filled with fury and hatred it felt foreign on his face; almost as if he was a different person altogether. All Nagisa could think of doing was to protect the things he loved, to retrieve what was rightfully  _his_.

"Hey. That's  _mine_."

* * *

The leader of the group of boys who tried to extort him ended up with 3 broken ribs, a dislocated kneecap and numerous dark violet bruises on his face, and two of his faithful followers suffered from cuts in the mouth, a few missing teeth and arms bent in ways human anatomy would normally never allow. The sole survivor of that fateful encounter in the school backyard –a boy who was just a tad bit taller than him, but with a face like that of a thug- escaped Nagisa's wrath unscathed, but the terror that was etched deep in his memories was more than enough to teach him a lesson.

Never mess with Hazuki Nagisa's possessions.

* * *

 As he grew older, Nagisa's extreme sense of protectiveness towards his properties gradually lessened -mainly because he had moved to new vicinity quite a distance from his previous home, away from those imbeciles who provoked him in the first place- but that clenching tightness in his chest and that dull throbbing ache along with the sensation of heated blood rushing to his head every single time he sees someone laying their hands on his things were still there, just not as severe as before.

Moving away also meant getting separated from his dearest friends; Haru-chan, Mako-chan and Rin-chan. Without the friends he had cherished so much, his middle school life was pretty much mundane and mediocre; just fitting in (which he had no problem of doing, thanks to his convivial nature), hitting puberty, growing taller (albeit too little, making him still the shortest boy, much to his dismay) and falling in and out of love. Naturally, the blonde did manage to look less feminine than he used to be, and his nickname morphed from 'sissy' into 'shota' instead. He was quite popular among shota-loving schoolmates, but the relationships he had were nevertheless short-lived.

"Nagisa-kun, I'm sorry… I do think that being selfish and possessive is cute, but you're just... you're just overdoing it."

"What are you saying? I thought we were doing great!"

"I'm really sorry! I just can't keep up with you."

' _Ah… I've done it again. She thinks I was being clingy and overprotective.'_ Nagisa looked away for a brief moment, grappling with the smashing reality of being dumped for the 3rd time this month. _'That's a pity. And she is so cute, too.'_   Recollecting his lost composure, he calmly turned back to the petite brunette in front of him.

"It's okay. I understand." Always, he would  _always_ repeat the same parting words accompanied with the same template patented 'Nagisa' smile in a pathetic attempt to ease her guilt. The brunette was taken aback by the dazzling smile, almost as if successfully seeing through his little façade and thinking what a shame it was to let go of him. But then she sighed in relief and turned around to leave him after reciprocating the smile, her light blue skirt fluttering in the wind, unknowingly carrying a piece of Nagisa's shattered heart with her.

"Too possessive, huh? Well, I can't change that. It's just the way I am."

Nagisa never allowed himself to fall in love again after that, that was until he entered high school and met Ryugazaki Rei.


	2. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa pesters Rei-chan to no end and ends up getting more than what he bargained for.  
> Falling in love should never be this easy.

The arrival of the anticipated spring had finally brought along the first day of his high school years, and Nagisa was thrilled to be able to meet his long-lost childhood friends again. He had sneakily kept his enrollment into Iwatobi High School a secret from Haru-chan and Mako-chan in hopes of surprising them, and although the feeling of not being able to share his excitement with someone was frustrating, it was definitely going to be worth it once he got to see the perplexed look on their faces. When his parents broke the news that they were going to move back to their old house, Nagisa had already set his eyes on entering the same school with his ex-teammates, and the entrance examination results enabled him to do so, much to his delight.

With one last look at the mirror (in truth, Nagisa was also a closet narcisscist), he left his house to make his way to the train station, humming softly to himself and skipping in joy. The curious looks given by passers-by were replied with the chipper blonde's own signature smile, and the strangers almost automatically smiled back. After all, one could not possibly hate someone with a smile often described as rivaling the brightness of the sunshine.

The first period was homeroom, and although Nagisa had prayed extremely hard for his name to not be misinterpreted as that of a girl, his homeroom teacher -who apparently doubled as their counselor- regrettably did just that.

"Hazuki Nagisa-san?"

Nagisa sighed in exasperation.  _'The suffix was supposed to be –kun instead of –san…'_   Nevertheless, he pushed any remnants of negative thinking aside and flashed the brightest smile he could deliver, raising his right hand in feigned enthusiasm.

"I'm here, sensei! And despite having a girl's name, I am actually a boy!"

As expected, a majority of the class erupted in a full-blown collective laughter, gleeful eyes casting sympathizing looks (some with hints of disbelief) at him as the flustered teacher apologized profusely at her mistake. Nagisa could only hope that he wouldn't end up being the butt of jokes just like he had been in elementary school. The teacher continued reading out the names on the list, until she reached the last few.

"Ryugazaki Rei-san?"

Nagisa was twirling his golden locks in idleness, staring blankly at the blackboard, almost lost in his train of thoughts (mostly comprising of how he desperately wanted to meet Mako-chan and Haru-chan already) and he barely noticed the baritone voice answering the teacher's call.

"That's me. And it's Ryugazaki Rei– ** _kun_** …"

Snapping his head to the left towards the source of that deep voice, Nagisa widened his magenta eyes at the sight of an obviously-not-female, broad-chested bespectacled boy frowning and grimacing. The said boy was certainly not amused after being mistaken for a girl. On the other hand, Nagisa could not have been any happier to find another person who shared the same fate as him.

Rei ignored the laughters around him, but then he noticed someone staring at him at the far corner of his eyes. It was that other boy with a girly name. Rei huffed and turned away, breaking the brief eye contact they had in favour of listening to what the teacher had to say next. Nonetheless, he couldn't help thinking that the blonde boy did look slightly androgynous anyway and that 'Nagisa' (which meant beach) did somehow fit in the picture, unlike in his case.

* * *

When the recess bell rang, Nagisa wasted no time and immediately went on a search for Makoto and Haruka around the unfamiliar school compound. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom as it was mid-April, and the light pink petals falling ever so gracefully to cover the grounds, accompanied with the gentle spring breeze, completed the enchanting scenery. His other classmates had begun forming cliques and utilizing the time to make new friends as well as enjoying the beautiful panorama, but he figured that he could do that later.

In his clumsy haste, he had accidentally bumped into a few people but he managed to find the duo walking side by side (like they always did ever since they were little, really, those sweethearts) in the school corridor, possibly heading towards the canteen.

"Haru-chaaaan! Mako-chaaaaan!"

It was probably unwise of him to glomp the pair right in the middle of a busy hallway because the flow of students was momentarily disrupted by the act, but Nagisa could not contain the joy at seeing his childhood friends after so long. He was never one to think before he act, anyway.

Makoto -the most sensible of the three- brought them to a less crowded place (which was of course the rooftop), and they had a lot of catching up done. Haruka was constantly changing the topic when the subject of Rin was brought up, though, so not much was said about the claret-haired boy.

"Wait, what do you mean there's no swimming club in Iwatobi High?!"

"It means what it means. That pool had been abandoned for god knows how long." There was a tinge of disappointment and sorrow in Haruka's reply, and both Makoto and Nagisa knew better than to provoke him further. Haruka must have had been utterly saddened by the fact that he could not swim freely like he did back then, even more so than Nagisa, whose purpose of coming to Iwatobi was to swim with his friends again.

"How about… we create a swimming club? It will be fun! The three of us together again!"

"It's troublesome."

"But Haru-chaaaaannn~~"

Makoto chuckled at his two friends' banter. ' _It feels like the old times again.'_

"Hmmm, that sounds great to me… Don't worry, I'll bring this up to the teacher in charge."

They were disillusioned though, when Makoto found out from the teacher that the club needed 4 members before being acknowledged by the school.

* * *

Dejected and upset, Nagisa felt the ray of hope getting dimmer with each passing day as he tried (and failed) countless times to persuade his fellow first years to join the currently non-existent swim club. None of them was interested, not even one, and Nagisa wondered how one could possibly detest a sport so exciting and entertaining as swimming. Swimming was one of the few things he enjoyed wholeheartedly as each stroke he took, each kick he made, actually helped him to forget all the woes and miseries of this world. When he was swimming, the water became  ** _his_** _stage, **his**  playground _and  ** _his_** _alone_ , and Nagisa loved that; he could be possessive as much as he wants.

A week passed and his attempts were still to no avail. Makoto and Haruka could not do much to help as the other second years were already associated with their own respective clubs, so it was up to Nagisa to find a fourth member.

On a particular day, Nagisa was on his hunt again when he spotted a familiar silhouette running laps around the school track before leaving the training grounds and heading towards the school gate.

"Ah, it's Rei-chan. He's practicing again, huh…" Nagisa's eyes trailed the azure-haired boy's every step. "What an interesting guy! He seems like a good candidate~" With renewed determination and curiousity, Nagisa ran at full speed to catch up with the other. Rei was already about 100m away from the school vicinity when the golden haired boy managed to approach him.

"Do you need something from me?" Rei stopped abruptly in his track and asked with a puzzled look, feeling a bit annoyed at having his evening physical training session interrupted.

"I just want to run with you, Rei-chan! We're heading in the same direction, right? I saw you taking the same train this morning!" The beaming smile directed at him did not do anything to compensate Rei's shock at hearing the sickeningly cute (and unbearably girlish) nickname.

"I beg your pardon, what did you just call me?"

"Rei-chan!"

"And why, pray tell, are you calling me that?"

"Well, I think it fits you!"

Something is wrong with this kid. Rei could not pinpoint what, but his intelligent mind was screaming "get the heck away from him!" However, Nagisa's dazzling smile was captivating in a confuzzling, mysterious way, and minutes later, Rei found himself running along the course of the streets with a bubbly companion right beside him. Rei reluctantly admitted inwardly that the chatters (mostly one-sided) did somehow make the journey feel much less taxing and tiring.

On the other hand, Nagisa was slowly regretting his decision to run in his complete school attire. He had taken his blazer off, but unlike Rei-chan (who was clad in a more comfortable white and red jersey and wearing suitable running shoes), the weight of his clothes and the constricting school shoes were slowing him down significantly. He did not stop talking though; he couldn't stop once he opened his mouth.

"And guess what, Rei-chan, I ate four pizzas on my own, can you belie-oof!"

The inevitable happened. Nagisa tripped and fell down in his clumsy dash while trying to avoid getting left behind. The certainly not graceful fall earned him a scratched knee, scraped palms and a red face from embarrassment.

' _Falling so pathetically… Ahhhh Rei-chan must think I'm so weak!'_  Nagisa had his pride –he was a boy, after all- and it was wounded considerably from the incident. He was only getting to know Rei, and that undoubtedly did not leave a good impression.

He was just about to stand on his own when he heard scuffles of shoes and saw a large hand extended to him. Rei was offering help, violet eyes glaring and handsome face scowling in anger and irritation, but Nagisa did not miss the slight hint of worry in his expression.

"See? Didn't I tell you that there's ultimately a higher than 95% chance that you'll slow me down, especially with that attire?"

Hearing no reply, Rei looked down to see the dark pink orbs usually shining with excitement now glazed in guilt and shame.  _'This kid was so cheerful back then, and now he's giving me this look…'_   Sighing softly, he pulled Nagisa up, causing the other to stagger to find his balance.

"It can't be helped… Let's walk instead."

"Rei-chan… I'm sorr-"

"Save it. It's no big deal."

The calloused hand that held onto his much smaller one tugged them forward, and the two walked the last stretch to the train station in silence. Nagisa knew that Rei was just being nice to him and trying to prevent him from weighing him down, but the grip felt so natural, almost as if Rei's hand  _belonged_ right there. At times like these, the blonde would have disturbed the calming silence with another endless string of words, but Nagisa could not come up with anything worth saying; the warmth spreading from his left hand -slowly inching upwards and covering his whole person in an unidentified feeling of bliss he could not quite fathom- was far too distracting. In fact, the pulsing heartbeats, the lump forming in his throat and the giddiness he felt were so distracting (and amplified tenfold when he had to sit next to Rei in the train for the lack of other seats, the occasional brushes of their shoulders making it worse), that by time they reached the fork that separated their paths, he still did not realize that he had yet to ask Rei-chan about the swim club.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. Take care... N-nagisa-kun." And with that the tall figure disappeared behind the rows of houses, leaving behind a confused Nagisa still clutching his hand as if holding onto that fading warmth.

Nagisa didn't understand how such a simple gesture (and from another boy, no less) had rendered him so stunned and entranced. All he knew was that the emotion he had thought he would never experience again was slowly but surely returning.

_'Ah... Maybe I'm falling in love.'_


	3. Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa casually invites himself over to Rei's house in a desperate attempt to pull him into the swimming club. Sometimes annoyance is the best persuasion.

"No."

"Awwww, why not, Rei-chan?" The blonde nudged Rei's shoulder with his head repeatedly, making a whiny sound that piqued the interests of a few other students in the cafeteria.

"It's a hideous sport. There's no beauty in it! Don't you ever see those monstrous faces swimmers make when they're desperate for a taste of oxygen?! " Rei's arms flail in an exaggerated gesture, while Nagisa pouted slightly. For the past few days, he had been loyally following Rei around (much like a little puppy would), trying to convince the other to join the swim club. He was almost at his limit, though. Usually he would always get what he wanted with a couple of cute expressions and annoying whines, but remarkably, none of his tactics was working on Rei.

"But Rei-chaaaaannn~ you'll get to see me in sexy swimming trunks!"

Rei choked, coughing out bits of half-chewed sandwich and grabbing the nearest cup of water to drink down the huge lump in his throat. The observant side of Nagisa noted that Rei had accidentally taken his orange juice and he squealed inwardly, thrilled at the idea of stealing an indirect kiss from his current crush. The bespectacled boy gulped the whole cup down and struggled to breathe normally before finally turning back to Nagisa.

"That's all the more reason  _not_ to join your swim club, Nagisa-kun."

"But you like beautiful things right? Don't you think I'm beautiful, hmmm, Rei-chan?"

It was meant to be a teasing statement, like all of the other flirtatious remarks he often said to him, and Nagisa thought that Rei was aware of that too, but apparently the blue-haired boy took that question seriously. Rei's violet eyes scanned Nagisa from top to bottom, scrutinizing every detail and landing upon his own pinkish orbs, as if staring right into his soul. Nagisa felt his heartbeat quicken and his face heating up. He wanted to look away and brush the question off as another silly joke of his but he couldn't, not when those mesmerizing pair of lilacs was watching him with such intense gaze. Rei finally broke the eye contact after a few moments, pushing up his red-rimmed glasses in that elegant and sophisticated way, like he always did when he came to a conclusion after much thinking.

"I can't deny that you  _are_ beautiful in a way… well, maybe not exactly fitting  _my_  criteria of beautiful but I suppose you are, in a strangely cute way."

Nagisa felt his fragile heart do a backflip and a couple of somersault twists upon hearing Rei's reply, and it turned out that Rei had just came to his senses as well because his eyes widened considerably and he covered his mouth and half of his face, trying to grasp the reality of his own words. Looking at anything but Nagisa's face, he stuttered while attempting to cover up his embarrassing half-confession.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't… W-we should get back to class."

Both of them shared the same blush, though Rei's was more obvious; spreading a lovely crimson hue up till the tip of his ears. Nagisa stole a glance at Rei before nodding and rising from his seat, silently hoping no one else was watching them because that extremely cute expression of Rei's should only be seen by him.

Just on cue, the school bell rang, signaling the end of their break and the other students scurried back to their respective classrooms. The pair joined the crowd, but Rei grabbed Nagisa's hand and tugged on it a bit to catch the other's attention.

"Nagisa-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Forget what I said, okay?"

Nagisa smiled sweetly and did not answer.

' _Silly Rei-chan… How could I ever forget that?'_

* * *

Rei thought that things would be awfully awkward after his weird blurt out, but thankfully, Nagisa was back to his usual self in no time. Regrettably, that meant that the cheerful swimmer was back on track in his 'Recruiting Rei-chan' quest and Rei had wished that he owned a pair of earplugs just so he could barely keep his sanity intact.

"Care to explain why are you walking with me right now, Nagisa-kun?"

"We  _always_  go back together, Rei-chan!"

"That applies to the path from school to the train station and then the train ride, which normally take approximately 21 minutes. You, on the other hand, have been walking beside me for an extra 5 minutes."

"Hmmm… So what's so strange about that, Rei-chan?"

"What I'm implying is that your house," Rei pointed one slender finger at the other side of the road, "is  _that_  way, if my memory recalled correctly."

It was common knowledge that Rei's memory was superb (judging from the astounding number of formulas he used on daily basis, really, he calculates  _everything_ ) and he never stored any incorrect input in his mind. Every day, the two of them would separate at the fork just a stone's throw away from the station they got off from, and now even that junction was already far behind them. He could also easily see through Nagisa's sly ways of talking non-stop to prevent Rei from suspecting that something was wrong, so there was no mistaking it; Nagisa was following him home.

"Well… I thought I could have a sleepover at your house!"

Rei halted abruptly, eyes throwing a shocked and incredulous look. The methods through which Nagisa's simplistic thinking was downright mind-boggling, so much so that Rei had the sudden urge to slice the boy's brain open and observe the cerebrum cells under a microscope to unravel the mysteries behind how absurd and preposterous he could ever get.

"And  _when_  exactly did I agree to this proposition of yours?"

"You never did, but fret no more, Rei-chan! I phoned home and told my mom that I'll be spending the night at a friend's house! Besides, tomorrow is a Saturday."

And Nagisa used his ultimate weapon – that irresistible, devilish yet charming smile of his. Rei was dead sure that the petite blonde had planned this all along.

A severe headache was coming on; Rei could already feel the veins in his temples throbbing and threatening to pop out. _'I really stand no chance against this guy…'_   Accepting the inevitable, he opted to stalk off to his house in irritation, secretly hoping that Nagisa would somehow trip on his way and fall down like the other day, this time only to never get up again.

* * *

After much bickering and squabbling, Rei dejectedly found himself stuck in a room with a very loud and talkative Nagisa, and he was more infuriated when he recalled how enthusiastic his mother was when he introduced Nagisa and explained the circumstances of his unexpected visit.

"Ohhh, this is wonderful! It is the first time Rei has brought someone home. Not to mention an adorable one at that!"

Rei's mother ruffled Nagisa's pale hair (with hands as warm as Rei's, Nagisa thought absent-mindedly), and her violet eyes sparkled in delight. Her smile was sincere and earnest, and Nagisa couldn't help but to imagine how Rei-chan would look like with that same smile replacing his scowl.

"Mom, you're making me sound so unsociable and introverted."

"But you are, my dear child! And your friend here will take good care of you and change that, right, Nagisa-kun?"

The cheery boy chimed in an overly eager "Yes, don't worry, leave it to me!" and nodded vigorously. Rei sighed and proceeded to climb the wooden stairs leading to his room, wanting nothing more than to sleep in the comfort of his bed.

Alas, it was a task which, of course, proved rather impossible when you have a temporary roommate as boisterous and bouncy as Nagisa.

Taking a glance at the silver wall clock (its digital LED digits flashing a glaring 1.46 A.M), Rei finally rolled around to face Nagisa, who was, goddamnit, still  _talking_  in the wee hours in the morning. Ryugazaki Rei rarely curses, but when he does, it is because of an unwanted Hazuki Nagisa intruding his personal space.

"And then, Rin-chan made the final turn and he was soooo fast we were screami—"

"Nagisa-kun."

"Yes, Rei-chan?"

"Why are you casually wearing my pajamas? Why are you hogging the blanket and sleeping next to me in my bed? And why are you still babbling when it's already almost 2 freaking AM?!"

Rei's screeching voice was raised in a tone reserved for nagging at Nagisa, and the latter smiled sheepishly and snuggled closer. Rei desperately brushed off the thought of how much of a perfect fit was Nagisa's head in the crook of his neck, wanting to focus on his anger instead.

"I didn't bring spare clothes... You don't have extra guest futon either. And I'm trying to describe the joys of swimming, so you'll be interested in joining the swim club!"

At that very moment, the azure-haired boy didn't know whether to laugh at blonde's ridiculously childish persuasive ways or cry at his stolen bed, blanket and privacy, but he let out a sound that was a mix of the two and gritted his teeth.  _'So he really won't stop until I agree…'_

"Fine."

"Fine what, Rei-chan?"

Nagisa gazed up at Rei -glittering pink eyes, fluttering eyelashes, soft plump lips and round cheeks only dimly illuminated by the light coming from the table lamp- and Rei looked away, flustered as the words he had said in the morning crossed his minds once again.

"Fine, I'll enter this swim club of yours." Rei's left hand tried to shift non-existent glasses on his nose.

The bundle of warmth next to him shifted and the next thing he knew, Nagisa had thrown his arms around him in a suffocating hug, burying his face in his chest.

"Rei-chan, are you serious? I'm so so soooooooo happy thank you so much!"

In a lumbering, amateurish and half-hearted attempt of reciprocating an affectionate body language he rarely took part in, Rei lifted a trembling arm and placed his palm on the small back of Nagisa's, patting awkwardly (later he was sure that the patting was unnecessary, because Nagisa let out a small chuckle at that) and feeling oddly calm in the sudden embrace. They stayed like that for a few breaths; just enough for Nagisa to snap out of his jubilant state and for Rei to stop thinking of what kind of mess was he signing up for.

Finally, Nagisa released his tight hold and returned to his previous position; his head resting in the crook of Rei's neck, little puffs of air tickling the other boy slightly. The ambience of the room was definitely changing into something Rei couldn't quite catch -but their perfectly timed heartbeat resounded in sync and the relaxing warmth engulfing him was slowly lulling him to sleep- and Rei  _almost_  ran out of things to complain about; until Nagisa decided to open his mouth again.

"Hey, can you follow me tomorrow, Rei-chan? I want you to meet Haru-chan and Mako-chan."

That made Rei rolled his eyes.  _'Oh great. Just great. God forbid that there will be more weirdos. I've already got my hands full with this one.'_

And so that night Nagisa fell asleep with a satisfied smile etched onto his face (the kind of goofy smile you have when you get something you've always wanted) while Rei shivered, tossed and turned the whole time after unsuccessfully struggling to wrestle the blanket out of Nagisa's strong grasps. He was also violently awoken by a clawing swipe to his face and a swift kick to his torso just minutes after dozing off, courtesy of the breaststroke swimmer's aggressive sleeping habits.

' _Oh god I'll **never** let this kid sleep over,'_ Rei grudgingly swore.  _' **Never again** '._


	4. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei meets Haruka and Makoto to discuss about the new team. Haruka's ability to creep Rei out with his public undressing and then knock all air out of Rei's lungs with his graceful swimming in the span of seconds is amazing. Nagisa proposes yet another outrageous plan.

Morning came, and the sun rays were already slowly seeping through the small gap between the drawn curtains, illuminating the room with little light. It was a Saturday, and for most people, Saturdays are meant for sleeping in, but the same did not apply to Ryugazaki Rei. Had it been the usual, Rei would have woken up at 7 AM sharp, mind fully alert and liberated from any traces of drowsiness and lethargy, and ready for his routine physical training regime. However, today was unlike any other, because the previous night had witnessed Rei unable to get a wink of sleep. By the crack of dawn, he was already beyond exhausted.

The cause was, of course, the petite blonde currently snoring right beside him, mouth slightly ajar and limbs spread wide open like a goddamn starfish.

Rei glanced at the bunched up blanket pooling around Nagisa's foot and grumbled.  _'If you're going to kick the blanket away like that, might as well give it to me and I would put it to good use!'_ The bespectacled boy had long since noticed that everything about Nagisa irked him one way or another. Nagisa was clingy and overly touchy-feely, and on top of that, he was a glutton (who in their right minds would eat more than 4 slices of pizza in a sitting) and a messy eater. Unfortunately, as of last night, the list of Nagisa's characteristics that vexed and bothered Rei to no end just got longer with the addition of his hostile sleeping behavior.

Rei disliked things that were not beautiful, and normally one would not classify Nagisa as a beautiful person.

But when the said boy turned over to face Rei –oversized pajama shirt riding up his abdomen, exposing a teasing strip of skin, and messy golden locks framing his round face almost too perfectly- Rei felt his heart flutter a little. Nagisa stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes just a crack to reveal glazed magenta orbs, and Rei's breath hitched in his throat as he watched the other trying to overcome sleep and rubbing his eyes groggily in that adorable way. The sight  _almost_  made the blue-haired boy question himself of the true meaning of beauty, and for an ephemeral instance, Rei had a fleeting thought that he would not mind waking up to this sight every day.

It was beautiful.

"G'morning, Rei-chan…"

Rei finally snapped out of his entranced state and blushed a bit upon realizing that he had been staring.  _'Wait wait wait what was I even thinking…'_

"Good morning, Nagisa-kun." Rei replied with a gruff voice, still worn out from the lack of sleep.

Apparently, Nagisa was not much of a morning person, because within seconds, he was already snuggling back into Rei's chest, arms and legs draping around him, not wanting to get up and leave just yet. The childish act made Rei roll his eyes and push the other away, prying Nagisa off and earning himself a long dragged out whine in response.

"Why are you the one wanting more sleep? I was the one who couldn't sleep last night!"

"Awww, come on, Rei-chan… Just a few minutes more…"

"No. It is already 9 in the morning, and scientific studies have proven that the time frame from 8 to 11 is the most ideal for any outdoor activities as the sunlight will provide the optimal concentration of UV rays vital for production of vitamin D in human skin. Besides, sleeping for excessive hours might lead to a dysfunctional melatonin regulation system, so you should…—NAGISA-KUN ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

Nagisa's only response was a muffled incomprehensible mumble.

"Nagisa-kun, you said something along the lines of introducing me to your friends." Rei was sure he would regret reminding Nagisa of the earlier plan, but that was what it took to rouse the other from his slumber. The blonde's eyes shot open and sparkled in delight and excitement.

"Ah, that's right! I wanted to bring you to meet Haru-chan and Mako-chan!"

"Seriously, it is a necessity for you to address every one with a –chan?"

"It's not, but I thought that names sound cuter that way!"

"It is still rude, Nagisa-kun… But let's not go there. Would you please let go now? I need to take a bath."

After hearing Rei's words, Nagisa reluctantly released his hold and watched as Rei got up and headed towards the bathroom, grabbing a nearby towel in the process. As his eyes followed Rei's every languid and graceful step, a mischievous smirk crept onto Nagisa's face but he immediately masked it with the usual innocent façade. He stood up too, and approached Rei who was just about to enter the bathroom.

"Hey Rei-chan..."

"What now, Nagisa-kun?"

"Can we bathe together?"

Nagisa's suggestive inquiry was met with a door forcibly slammed in his face.

* * *

Out of all the places available for meeting up, this 'Haru-chan' guy whom Nagisa always talked fondly about was the one who insisted on the public pool, and Rei had no other option but to comply, albeit with an unwilling heart. The venue seemed to be a reasonable choice as well, considering the fact that it was a  _swimming club_  that they were going to establish. However, there was something about pools that put Rei at unease, something about the large amount of water that burdened his heart with worry and anxiety.

It was not as if he hated water or was scared of it or anything, no, it was in reality quite the opposite. He enjoyed watching the white waves crashing down, the crystal clear liquid reflecting the vast sky in that mesmerizing blue hue and the way the surface of puddles on the road ripples when hit with each drop of rain. It made him feel serene and tranquil, but he only liked watching from far. Being  _in_ the water, however, was something he did not look forward to.

Because Ryugazaki Rei did not know how to swim.

"Nagisa-kun, are we going to swim today?" Rei asked, turning to his side to look at the blonde who was walking next to him in a relaxed pace.  _'Please answer no please no swimming please…'_

Unfortunately, Rei's prayers (though had been repeated like a mantra) were not heard, because Nagisa's reply was an overly joyous "Of course we would, Rei-chan! That is the whole point, you see!"

The glasses-wearing boy had wanted to turn fast on his heels to flee for his life, to get away from the pool and the 'Haru-chan and Mako-chan' people whom he was absolutely positive would be as creepy and eccentric as Nagisa, and just go home and bury his face in calculus books instead. But then Nagisa was already announcing their arrival at the public pool, and Rei had never felt such despair in his life.

"Rei-chan, we're here already! Let's go search for them, okay?"

Rei could not utter a proper response and merely allowed himself being dragged forward by a thrilled Nagisa, all the while visualizing the worst case scenario. Birds of a feather flock together, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Nagisa's two friends acted similarly.  _That_ he could still probably handle as he was already getting accustomed to Nagisa's antics, but if one of them suddenly came up with an idea of testing Rei's swimming capabilities… That would be a different story altogether, and the outcome was most definitely not desirable.

"Nagisa! Over here!"

The pair turned towards the source of the voice, and Rei's violet eyes lit up upon seeing two perfectly normal looking boys clad in casual clothes standing in front of a nearby bathroom stall. One of them -the greenish haired with a gentle smile- waved slightly while the other stared at the water with a longing heated gaze (akin to that of a rapist, Rei thought with a shudder). Nagisa waved back enthusiastically and in a matter of seconds, the breaststroke swimmer was gone from Rei's side. He latched onto his two friends, hugging them as if it was their first meeting after a hundred years.

When Makoto and Haruka introduced themselves (the latter still with a sour face), Rei was relieved to see no signs of abnormal behavior, although he was quite taken aback by the fact that they were his seniors. He would never have guessed that Nagisa's friends were actually a year older than them.

"Are we done with this? I am going to swim now." Haruka interrupted their little ice-breaking session with impatience evident in his tone, seemingly directing the statement to no one in particular. And then, in a series of unbelievably expeditious course of actions, the black-haired boy stripped down to his swimsuit and leaped into the crystal clear water, disappearing underneath the surface.

Staring with eyes wide open at the spot where Haruka had once stood, Rei gaped like a goldfish, unable to digest the scene he had just witnessed. To make matters worse, Haruka had yet to resurface even after 15 seconds had passed.

"There is no need to worry, Ryugazaki-kun. Haru had always been like that… He is infatuated with water." Makoto, who seemed to have been able to read the pressing questions Rei had in mind, tried to explain the situation.

"You mean, he is in love with water? As in  _romantically_?"

"Well, you could say that… But Haru-chan's love is more like an obsession! Water is like his center of gravity. It's normal to see him being underwater for a reaaaaaaaaally long time!" Nagisa replied with a smile.

' _Dear lord… just what part of this is normal? He is a total freak. A weirdo! A hydro-maniac!'_   Of course, for the sake of courteousness and being polite, Rei kept his thoughts to himself.

* * *

Despite the worst first impression he had of Haruka, Rei couldn't deny that he was feeling a tad bit curious about the freestyle swimmer (Nagisa told him that Haru-chan only swims freestyle for some profound reasons), so while listening to Nagisa chatting away with Makoto, his eyes wandered towards the pool, trailing Haruka's every movement. The pool was a bit too crowded but there was still sufficient room to do some lap training in the 50m stretch of water. Haruka had reappeared on the surface a few minutes ago, opting to float and be drifted following the flow of water instead.

The moment when Haruka stopped floating statically and started swimming towards the other end of the pool was when things took a 360 turn. Rei immediately found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. There were grace and elegance in every stroke, and the way Haruka's body glided through the water was swift, stunning and truly the epitome of beauty that he had always been looking for in sports.

"How did he move so effortlessly? The forward propulsion is amazing! Water's viscosity should have made it extremely difficult to steal a breath and still move that quick. Unless he is a natural genius in this…"

"Haru  _is_ certainly gifted, especially in freestyle. His catch and pull techniques are the best." The way Makoto-senpai talked about Haruka-senpai with a hint of admiration and affection in his ever-smiling expression sent off a signal that maybe, just maybe, there was something more between them. Nevertheless, Rei brushed it off in favour of thinking of something far more important.

If someone could look this beautiful while swimming, then Rei would want to rise up to that level, too.

Rei was too preoccupied in observing the freestyle swimmer's moves and making mental notes, that he was not aware of Nagisa staring at him from the corner of his eyes, casting a look that was a mixture of distress and jealousy.

* * *

Nagisa was getting upset, but he didn't say anything about it. He had noticed Rei-chan's astonished and amazed look directed towards Haru-chan. He knew he was behaving irrationally by being jealous of Haru-chan… Haru-chan was his best friend, for god's sake! But he still couldn't avoid the sudden surge of envy washing over him. The painful clenching of his heart felt familiar...

' _Rei-chan had never had that expression when he was with me… Why is he looking at Haru-chan that way?'_

* * *

"I don't like swimming here. It's too packed." Haruka said nonchalantly, drying his raven hair with a towel. The lanes were getting more and more crammed full, much to his distaste. He could not swim freely without bumping into someone else anymore, so he called it quits and joined the group, listening apathetically to whatever it was they were discussing.

"I agree that the public pool is not the best place to practice… We really need to fix our school's pool, don't we?" Makoto looked at Haru to gauge any reply or reaction but the other remained straight-faced.

"We don't have the money." Haruka said in a-matter-of-fact tone.

Indeed, money was a major problem, especially for a bunch of high school students. To rely solely on the budget supplied by Iwatobi High for new clubs was a hopeless notion; the amount was so meager it could only afford them a pack of plaster for the cracked walls.

They went silent for a while (trying to come up with an idea to generate money enough for repairing works) until Nagisa's eyes brightened in a way Rei knew could only mean that ridiculous ideas had formed in that tiny head of his.

"How about we ask Ama-chan to recommend us for some swimwear modeling jobs? It might not give us much but it's still something!"

Much to Rei's surprise and agony, Makoto -who was seemingly the most levelheaded one- agreed to the nonsensical suggestion, and Haruka did too (after some coaxing involving "But you'll get to swim anytime you want, Haru!"), leaving Rei to finally regret his decision to join the swimming club.

At the brink of collapsing under the intense pressure of hopeful gazes from the three boys (especially Nagisa), Rei could only nod weakly in agreement and wait for the impending apocalypse involving swimming trunks and speedos.

_'This is going to be disastrous...'_


	5. Flawless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei discovers a hidden talent... and Nagisa gets a _little_ bit jealous.

Thanks to Nagisa and Makoto's amazing persuasion, Amakata-sensei had recommended their names to the swimwear designer she was once acquainted with (or rather, worked for), and the man had agreed immediately. However, the poor guy must had mistaken them for being girls judging from their names, because the shocked look he had upon seeing four boys entering his working space was absolutely priceless.

"You're Amakata-chan's students?!"

The boys nodded, and the horrified expression on his face worsened.

"B-but I thought you were girls!" His voice screeched. It was obvious that he was disappointed, feeling that he had been conned. Here he was, expecting to have landed a good catch consisting of high school girls endowed with nice racks, pearly white skin and soft silky locks, but these boys Amakata-chan had sent defied his wishful imaginations.

"Trust me, we get that a lot. It's really just our luck." Makoto smiled apologetically. The middle-aged man stopped whining and stared at them with judgmental eyes; his brownish orbs scrutinizing, skimming up and down each of their bodies. Rei swore that the guy surely had X-ray vision of some sort, because as soon as those lecherous eyes landed on him, the designer's facial expression morphed into one that was creepy and perverted, like he had some naughty ideas in mind.

Rei was not wrong, not at all.

"Hey, you… Come over here for a sec. The others can go to that changing room. The photographer will give you further instructions."

Nagisa almost instantly went into protective mode, not wanting to be separated from his Rei-chan. After all, the impish look that old fart had when he saw Rei did not go unnoticed. He wanted to follow them, but the violet-eyed boy gave a look that said "I'll be fine". Nagisa still could not chase away the worry and uneasiness he felt (the old guy was  _ogling_ Rei-chan for crying out loud!) but decided that he'd trust Rei's words.

* * *

Makoto and Nagisa were halfway through changing into their respective swimming trunks, while Haruka was inside the studio, already posing for photos when Rei entered the room with a handful of vividly colourful garments. A few of them were in dark hues and most were painted with bright colours (there was even a jarring neon green one) but all shared a common characteristic: they were all speedos.  _Tiny, scanty and uncomfortable-looking_   ** _speedos_** _._ He dropped the bunch on a dressing table and picked one up, scrunching his face in utter repulsion.

"Is he kidding me? Did he expect me to wear  _this_?" Rei complained exasperatedly, holding up a striking red and white striped speedo between the tips of his fingers as if it was something disgusting and revolting.

"Don't you think it's a good thing, Rei-chan? It means that the designer thinks you're sexy enough to wear those!" Nagisa winked playfully at him and Rei grumbled in frustration.

It was bad enough that he had to agree to Nagisa's preposterous idea of modeling for swimwear. To make matters worse, now he was the only one stuck with  _speedos_ , while his other three teammates were given much less revealing swimming trunks.

"By the way, Rei-chan… Did he…  _touch_ you, or anything?" For some reason, Nagisa's smile had faltered, only to be replaced with a concerned expression instead.

"What?! No, of course not!"

The breaststroke swimmer sighed in relief.  _'If he dares to even lay a finger on my Rei-chan… I will probably castrate him.'_

"Next, please!" The photographer's voice rang from the studio and Haruka appeared (clad in a black swimming trunk with purple strips on it…  _'Wait, didn't he wear a similar one that time at the pool?!'_ ), taking lazy steps before plopping down on the bench. He tapped Makoto lightly on the shoulder to signal that it was his turn. The taller one nodded and stood up to get his photo taken.

When Makoto left, Rei expected that the freestyle swimmer would proceed into changing back to his casual clothes, but the latter remained seated.

"Umm, Haruka-senpai? Are you not going to change now that you're done?"

"No need for it. I am going for a swim later." The black-haired boy answered curtly.

"Oh." Rei was rendered speechless. It was clear that Haruka-senpai's obsession with the two molecules of hydrogen bonded to single oxygen had reached a critical and precarious stage. There was no cure to it.

"Now, now, Rei-chan… Hurry up and chaaaaange!" The cheerful blonde pushed him towards one of the stalls with a grin on his face. To tell the truth, Nagisa was extremely curious to see how Rei-chan would look like when donned in complete swimming attire. He had imagined how Rei-chan's flawless velvety skin would glisten with beads of water and how his wet dark blue hair would appear mussed and disheveled after a swim. When he saw the anxious look on Rei's face, his grin transformed into a small reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Rei-chan. You look beautiful in anything that you wear."

That made Rei's cheeks heat up involuntarily, but he managed to grudgingly grab a piece of red swim brief before disappearing behind the curtains.

* * *

' _Again, he is teasing me with these embarrassing words… Has he no shame when saying it to me? Surely he didn't mean what he says…'_

While changing into the offensive red speedo that barely covered anything (with much difficulty, really, how does one fit into these?!), Rei thought of Nagisa's words. Though he was getting used to receiving these little compliments from the hyperactive boy on daily basis, he still couldn't completely get rid of the lukewarm blush creeping onto his face whenever he hears them. It made his heart race for no reason at all, and Rei hated not being able to explain a phenomenon scientifically. The first time he felt his heart threatening to leap out of his ribcages when one day Nagisa had said that his lilac eyes were enchanting and mesmerizing, he had gone home and frantically scoured for his father's medical encyclopedias, trying to find a logical justification on the occurrence but to no avail.

Something at the back of his knowledge-saturated mind deduced that there was only one plausible explanation for the things he was feeling. Maybe it was that one thing scientists had never been successful in describing the way it worked or how it came to be.

Maybe it was love.

* * *

It turned out that Rei  _did_ look beautiful in the swimwear. As a matter of fact, he looked downright  _breathtaking_ ; with his chiseled triceps, well sculpted biceps, prominent shoulder blades, defined washboard abs and that tight,  _tight_  ass perfectly fitting into the bright red swim brief. Heck, even his thighs looked firm and taut, and as soon as Nagisa saw him, he had to suppress the urge to jump on Rei-chan right there and then. Thank heavens for Rei-chan's strict fitness training schedule.

"God, that ass looks edible…" The shorter boy did not realize that he was licking his lips and saying his thoughts out loud subconsciously. Rei, whose cheeks were bright pink from embarrassment, pretended to not hear the remark (all the while thinking  _'was that a compliment or what?'_ ) and avoided Nagisa's hungry gaze. Meanwhile, Haruka sat quietly on the nearby bench, indifferent to the state of undressed Rei was in.

"W-will you please stop staring, Nagisa-kun? It's indecent."

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan, but you just look so delicious!" He replied humorously, hoping it sounded like a stupid joke, though it really was the truth.

Nagisa finally snapped out of his daydream (involving a flushed Rei-chan writhing underneath him and other rather inappropriate fantasies) when Makoto called out for Rei.

"I-it's my t-turn now." Flustered and desperate to just get away from the awkward situation, he made a run for the studio, stumbling and almost knocking Makoto over in the process.

* * *

Once in the studio, he was completely surrounded by white backdrops and had to squint his eyes at the bright light coming from the flash lamps. He knew that sufficient light was vital in producing crisp photographs with high resolutions, but he never knew 'sufficient' meant  _this_ much. There were also a few assistants running around adjusting the set.

"Ah, so you are the one Mizuno-san was harping on about. He said you're a rare gem." The photographer, who was cleaning his lens, greeted Rei with a smile.

"I wouldn't know about that..."Rei replied, wanting to add "So Mizuno is that old pervert's name?" but decided against it.

"Well, let's see what you've got. Stand over there please."

The cobalt-haired boy walked over towards the spot in front of the camera, trying hard to calm his pounding heartbeat.  _'Calm down… I have gone through this chapter in the book. Just stand with legs slightly apart, torso slanting at 35 degrees and relax…'_

The make-up artist hurriedly went to apply touch-ups to Rei's already blemish-free face, lightly dusting bronzer on his jaws and highlights on his cheeks and nose. She did not have to do much, anyway, considering that Rei looked stunning even without make-up.

"Now give me your best pose."

"Like this?" He tried flexing his biceps according to the steps described in 'How to be A Model: Volume 1'. He had spent the whole night diligently reading the how-to book, and he could only hope he was doing it right, because being in the center of attention was not something Rei appreciated as it made him less alert and focused.

"That's right, place your left hand behind your head… Mm-hmm… Tilt your face towards the camera a bit… Yes, perfect! Now stay still!"

Rei did as told, tilting his face just a little and though he was oblivious to it, the angle of his head was exposing his creamy neck, making him look seductive without him even meaning to. The crimson-rimmed spectacles he had on matched the colour of his speedo, giving an added effect of sophisticated beauty.

Ryugazaki Rei was damn talented at modeling and the pitiable lad did not even realize it.

"Wow, you're totally rocking it, kid. You sure you've never done this before?" The photographer asked, hands still busy snapping away and occasionally asking his assistants to adjust the position of the lights. He was curious as to how this newbie could strike flawless poses, all of which were impeccably photogenic. The previous two boys were good, too, though the one with black hair had the same bored face for all shots, but this one was exceptionally first-rate.

"Indeed, I have the theory of modeling and the angles of the poses memorized, but other than that, I am inexperienced in this." Rei pushed his red-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of his nose out of habit. He was not trying to brag or anything. For him, everything must have a manual or a how-to book lying around somewhere; contents waiting to be read and techniques to be put into application. At first, he was feeling self-conscious and gawky, especially since he was so scarcely clothed, but he was definitely getting the hang of it; recalling and replicating the poses he had seen in those books he borrowed from the library for the sake of not failing miserably at this.

"You're a bookworm, huh? Your image is perfect for the new collection. Who knows, you might become famous soon!"

In the end, Rei's session lasted for a few hours (he was asked to wear various other colours, too) and they wound up going back almost in the evening. The poor boy pledged that he would never choose modeling as a possible career path.

* * *

The 'soon' that the photographer had envisioned came too fast, because a week later, the sports magazine with their photo shoot in it was released. On a particular day, Nagisa saw a few of his female classmates reading a magazine, muttering things like "I'd definitely tap that!" and "If only he was my boyfriend!" while giggling and squealing in delight. Of course, he paid them no heed; assuming that they were getting all excited about the usual male idols. It was when he saw the exact same publication displayed on the racks in a convenience store the next day and flipped through it that he realized that it was Rei-chan the girls were looking at, not any other sportsmen, singers or public figures.

Rei-chan.

 _His_  Rei-chan.

Engulfed in fury, jealousy and driven by a powerful yet selfish urge to keep the sight to himself (and really, what a sight it was! Rei-chan was too sexy for his own good), Nagisa grabbed as many copies of the magazine as he could and dashed to the cashier, not bothering if he had bumped into a few other people. He was not going to let anyone see Rei-chan like that. At school, Rei-chan was an ordinary first-year student with nothing too interesting or eye-catching, but in the featured photo, he was exuding an aura of confidence and allure, almost as if he was a professional first-class model. If Rei-chan becomes popular and makes more friends, Nagisa would lose him; just like how he had lost the people he used to love. Rei-chan would find him unbearable, clingy and annoying, like a useless burden that needed to be chucked away, a troublesome hurdle he needed to jump over...

' _And then Rei-chan will leave me…'_

Nagisa's train of thoughts stopped as he reached the front of the queue. The cashier glanced at the heap of identical magazines on the counter and gave a suspicious look at him.

"Are you sure you want these?"

Nagisa looked at her and flashed a forced grin. "I am… I'm giving them to my… my friends! Yeah, that's right!"

The cashier took the excuse as convincing enough and complied, scanning each copy with such agonizingly slow pace (at least it seemed that way to the currently impatient Nagisa) and once he was done paying and burning a hole in his pocket, Nagisa ran all the way back home, desperately clutching the plastic bag filled with numerous copies of the magazine close to his chest.

' _Looks like those girls are going to need a **little**  reminder to not even think of taking someone else's property.'_


	6. Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa's innocent mask chips off a tiny bit as his secret trait slowly returns. And a kiss is shared... but is it really accidental, or is it something they've both wanted all along?

When taking into consideration the tremendous difficulty his mother had to endure every morning in attempts of waking him up on time to go to school, one could easily know that Nagisa was definitely not a light sleeper. He was blessed with the ability to sleep anytime and anywhere, so insomnia was never in his life's dictionary. On normal occasions, the moment he laid his head on the fluffy pillow and switched off the lights, his mind would shut down automatically and he'd fall asleep instantly.

Nonetheless, tonight was an exception.

No matter how many times he tossed and turned on the queen sized bed, he could never find a position comfortable enough for him to rest peacefully. The main cause of his sudden restlessness was in the form of a bespectacled blue-haired boy who had conquered a substantial part of his thoughts ever since the day Nagisa had fallen in love with him.

Rolling over to lay on his side once more, his line of vision caught the stack of magazines well organized next to the nightstand and he let out a long sigh. He would have to hide those before his parents find out that he had been wasting money on magazines which he had no need for. That would surely anger them. And if they knew the real cause as to why Nagisa bought the magazines, well, he'd get an earful of nagging.

Nagisa ran a hand through his golden locks and sighed. "If Rei-chan finds out about this possessive side of me… What will he do?"

* * *

The classroom was almost empty except for a few other students who were packing their bags, ready to go home. Amakata-sensei had bought the materials needed for repairing their school's pool, so there would be club meeting in the evening. Rei-chan had gone to the library to return the books he had borrowed (which he refused to show Nagisa for certain unspecified reasons), and Nagisa figured it was the right time to carry out his plan.

"Hello there!" Nagisa put on the sweetest smile he could and approached the girl's table. She was with her usual group of friends, laughing about something insignificant. That screeching laugh was the one haunting him last night. "Do you, by any chance, still have the magazine you read yesterday?" He tilted his head a little in an attempt to appear innocent; a technique he had perfected over the years.

"Ah, of course, Nagisa-kun! You were in it too, right?" The brown-haired girl, whose name Nagisa was struggling to recall (was it Hikaru? Hikari?), answered enthusiastically.

"Yes, that's why I would like to see it!"

"Hold on, I'll get it for you." She rummaged her table, looking for the said magazine. It took quite some time for her to find it and when she finally did, she handed it to the blonde boy and smiled sheepishly. Her other friends had resumed their previous conversation, engrossed in their world of shoes, manicure and hairstyle.

"Hmmm… The photos turned out really nice, don't they?" Nagisa's fingers ran over the pictures, unconsciously tracing over the outlines.

"Yeap, and look at Ryugazaki-kun! I think his pose is the best. He looked sooooo handsome!"

Handsome? Well of course Rei-chan is handsome. Dashing, flawless, attractive, mesmerizing,  _beautiful_.

' _But only **I**  am allowed to call him that.'_

Collective giggles were heard before one of the girls hopped off the table she was sitting on and approached Nagisa. With a shy smile on her rosy face, she slipped an envelope into his right hand and fidgeted a bit. Nagisa could already guess what she meant with the letter. The last girl he had dated back in middle school had also done the same; confessing through words written with cursive fonts on sweet-scented paper. It was surprisingly common for girls to confess first, and sure, the girl was cute and lovely, but Nagisa was not interested. The blonde boy was about to retaliate and reject the letter (because his heart belongs to Rei-chan now) but the girl started first.

"Umm, Nagisa-kun… You are best friends with Ryugazaki-kun, right? Could you please… you know… p-pass the letter to him?"

Nagisa's eyes widened in realization upon hearing her request.  _'Oh hell no, she did not just ask me to help her get together with Rei-chan…'_

Something snapped in Nagisa. To admire Rei-chan and idolize him was one thing, but to directly attempt in seducing him? That was taking things a bit too far.

The cheerful boy's fake smile faltered in a split second, twisting into some kind of maniacal grin instead. Hikaru did not notice the sudden change in atmosphere as she went on and on about how she had never thought that there would be such talented and good-looking boys in her class. Nagisa's grip on the letter tightened and he slowly slipped the other hand into his pocket, taking out a lighter.

And the next thing they knew was that the magazine and the letter were on fire.

"What the heck are you doing?! That's mine, you know!" Hikaru shrieked out, staring at the flames rapidly swallowing her magazine whole. The letter –being only paper thin and made out of much more vulnerable material- had long since caught the fire completely and reduced to ashes. The strawberry scent emanating from the letter was quickly replaced with the choking smell of smoke.

"I'm sorry, but you're wrong. _He's mine_."

As the fire threatened to reach Nagisa's fingers, he dropped the burning magazine and it left a charred mark on the floor. The other girls had run out of the classroom, yelling and shouting in panic, unable to withstand the suffocating smoke filling up the air. Nagisa smiled in satisfaction as he watched the girl who had given him the letter fall onto her knees, coughing and sobbing loudly while clutching the remnants of her letter, her palms tainted black from the carbon.

"You're crazy!" She cried out, hurling bits of ashes at Nagisa. The boy merely snickered and chuckled lightly before putting a pleasant smile onto his face once again.

"Maybe you're right, but I'm crazy only for Rei-chan!" He winked playfully and stuck out his tongue; his words sharp and mocking though his face innocent and childlike. It was enough to evoke fear and hatred in the girls, and that was exactly what he desired: for them to know the consequences of messing with his things. Grabbing his backpack from his seat, he rushed out of the classroom, ignoring the wails of the terrified girls.

Well, that should teach them a lesson.

* * *

As soon as Nagisa arrived at their school pool, he was greeted with a sight of an angry Rei holding a bucket of water in one hand and a packet of white-greyish powder in another. He was frowning, and Nagisa knew that he was going to get some scolding.

"Nagisa-kun, you're late! Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai have already started plastering a part of the pool!"

Still panting and huffing after all that running, Nagisa took a few deep breaths before finally speaking, muttering an apology. He made an excuse of being caught up with helping a teacher carry books on his way, and Rei accepted it without any suspicions. Surely he couldn't tell Rei-chan that he had just burned, crushed and trampled on a girl's hope because he was jealous, right?

Explaining his actions would mean telling Rei-chan the truth about his possessiveness, about the way he yearned to monopolize Rei, to make him his, and his only. It would be creepy, almost as bad as the disgusting feeling you get when you realized that you have an obsessive stalker. Well, if you count barging into one's house, taking secret photos and looking at one's returned library books to see his reading preferences as stalking, then yes, Nagisa was a stalker as well.

"Come on, then. We need to mix the plasters first." Rei dumped the packet he was holding into Nagisa's arms and proceeded to slowly descend into the dry pool. Though it had been deserted for quite some time, the ladder, the diving board and the pumps were still functioning. The only things that needed repairing were the chipped walls and removing the disgusting seaweed-looking outgrowths appearing from the cracks. Luckily for them, the gross parts of the job had been well taken care of by Haruka and Makoto (thanks to Haruka being eager for once and insisting on them starting the works one day earlier) so all that's left was the plastering.

"Listen, Nagisa-kun. We are using a mixture of cement and marble sand, so the suitable ratio of water to cement is 1 to 1. Add too much water and it will be less durable and more prone to cracking in the future." Unconsciously slipping into the 'know-it-all-Rei' mode, the blue-haired boy rambled on and on about the composition of the mixture, skilled hands applying adequate pressure onto the trowel, making sure the two materials homogenized in the bucket. Nagisa stared in awe, not quite sure whether to feel impressed or annoyed by Rei-chan's extensive general knowledge.

"…Excessive cement, on the other hand, will affect the movement of water in the pool, so be careful and don't—"

"Rei-chan."

"Yes, Nagisa-kun?" When Rei halted halfway and looked up to see Nagisa, he certainly did not expect the smaller one to dip his finger into the bucket and smear the grey liquid onto his nose. It took a while for Rei to digest what had happened as the cool spot on his nose gradually hardened. Nagisa smiled mischievously, his naughty hand already at the brink of dipping into the bucket once again. Rei grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Don't. You. Dare." Gritting the warning through his teeth, Rei tightened his grip onto Nagisa's hand, but the self-proclaimed genius was forgetting that a normal human has two hands. By the time he realized this fact, that other limb of Nagisa is now already fully covered in plaster mixture, smearing some of it onto his cheeks. Some even got on his glasses, partially obscuring his view.

"Ahahaha! Look at you, Rei-chan! Your glasses are white!" The blonde chuckled heartily, clutching at his sides at he broke into a fit of laughter. Had the circumstances been different, seeing (more like half-seeing, since his glasses are dirtied) Nagisa laugh with such childlike joy would have made Rei's heart flip in unexplained happiness, but this time was different.

This time, it meant war.

Rational and sensible thinking long gone, Rei scooped out a handful of the liquid cement and threw it at Nagisa, who immediately stopped laughing, eyes widened in shock. It was clear that the counterattack had caught him off guard, but it took him only a second to return to his playful behavior, pink eyes sparkling in delight at Rei's willingness to go along with his game.

"Take that! You started this first, Nagisa-kun!"

"Ahhh! Not fair, you aimed at my blind spot!"

"Well, you threw some at my glasses! Now I'm half-blind!"

They continued fooling around, oblivious to Haruka and Makoto leaving the pool to get more cement packets from Amakata-sensei's car. Laughter rang in the air, with occasional banters and yells exchanged between the two boys. It was a blissful feeling Rei had never experienced before; to be so carefree and cheery. A dignified and uptight part of his mind was screaming at him to stop the nonsense and get back to work, but the lively and childish part of him (which had been hidden for so long, until Nagisa came around) yearned for this.

"Hahaha! Nice one, Rei-chan! I'll get back at ya— ahhh!"

At that moment, Rei swore that he hated the clumsy side of Nagisa with a passion. Sure enough, the floor was wet and slippery due to the spilled water and plaster mixture, and the chances of one falling down -especially if you were running around like Nagisa- were exceptionally high. But those were unacceptable excuses to explain as to why Rei was lying on the floor, back flat and pressed hard onto the cool surface, with a petite blonde on top of him, straddling him in a rather suggestive fashion. Their significant height difference served to make things worse as it made it easier for Rei to hold Nagisa in an accidental embrace (later Rei argued with himself that _'the hands wrapping around Nagisa' s thin waist was a reflex to protect him from the impact of the fall'_ ) and their faces ended up merely inches apart.

Screw that, it was probably only a few millimeters, because Rei could practically  _feel_  Nagisa' breath ghosting on his lips.

Time seemed to have paused.

Violet orbs stared into dark pink ones, and Nagisa's heartbeat was getting so loud that it echoed in his own ears, his body and face heating up at their extremely close proximity. He could have pulled away in an instant, could have sat up straight and pretended nothing had happened, and maybe that way they would remain friends. But was he contented with being just friends, and nothing more?

Something told Nagisa that  _no, it was not enough._ He  _wanted_ Rei, in more ways than one.

So he leaned in and brushed his lips against Rei's; gently and feather-like. His small palms (which were still covered in disgusting white blobs) rested on either side of Rei's head while the stunned boy beneath him remained stoned, unable to react properly to the unexpected kiss. Though it was only a peck on the lips, it sent a surge of warmth creeping up from the point of contact, shooting straight at his heart, much like the time when Rei first held his hand. Their eyes fluttered close, and because Nagisa had yet to muster the courage to deepen the kiss, he opted to just linger on Rei's lips.

Rei did nothing to push Nagisa away, because it felt good. It felt right, like those lips were perfect complementary to his, and Rei could not fathom why.

Nagisa pulled away from the kiss and stood up abruptly when he heard faint voices approaching the pool, and his reluctant lips immediately grew cold, already missing the warmth and comfort Rei's had provided.

When Makoto and Haruka walked in, each carrying a few plastic bags, Rei was reminded of the task they were supposed to complete and finally noticed the mess they had made.

"Ryugazaki-kun? Nagisa? What happened?" Makoto asked, puzzled by the state of disarray the pair was in.

"I-it's nothing. Nagisa-kun just stepped on a puddle and slipped…"

Well, at least he wasn't lying  _completely_.

"Be more careful next time, okay? We wouldn't want to waste the materials… That is, unless you're willing to do more modeling."

Rei shivered at the thought of having to wear speedos again, while Nagisa scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. They resumed repairing the pool in uncomfortable silence (after cleaning up, of course, since no one wanted hardened cement on their faces), both too embarrassed from the prior incident and too preoccupied with their own thoughts and inner turmoil.

It was safe to say that neither got enough sleep that night.


	7. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei sees a rather interesting dream and some revelations.

"Rei-chan…"

A voice called out for him –distant, soft and barely audible- but there was no one in sight. Rei looked around and realized that he was in an unrecognizable house; a place he was sure he had never stepped his foot in. And yet he was maneuvering through the empty corridors like an expert, instinctively going up the staircase and heading towards the source of the voice.

"Rei-chan… Over here…"

The voice resounded louder and louder as he approached the room at the end of the second floor corridor. He stopped in front of the door, hesitantly reaching out for the knob with trembling hands. Despite his sophisticated look, fear still resided in his heart, and the mysterious voice calling his name repeatedly only served to heighten his fear.

When he finally opened the door, he sighed in relief as he saw a boy with a familiar tuft of golden hair sitting on the bed, smiling.  _'Thank god it's just Nagisa…'_

"What are you doing here, Nagisa-kun? And where is this place?"

Nagisa only remained silent and stood up to walk towards Rei. He grabbed Rei's hand harshly and pulled the blue-haired boy to the bed. The taller boy was pushed down roughly -his head cushioned by the fluffy pillows and the firm mattress- and Nagisa immediately straddled him in a position akin to the one they were in yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, Rei recalled the kiss they had shared. It had been bugging him the whole night, and he was desperate to ask whether or not it was accidental and was there a different meaning to it. Sure, Nagisa had pecked him on the cheeks a few times when he was excited about something (completely platonic, or so Rei had thought), but a kiss on the lips –according to the body language books he had frantically read in his panic yesterday- was a symbol of love and affection.

Rei opened his mouth to ask only to find himself unable to speak, almost as if his voice had been taken away.

Nagisa, who had by now worn a wicked smirk and a mischievous glint in his eyes, ran his long fingers along Rei's jaw, brushing lightly over his lips, then moving down to trace his Adam's apple and stopped to hover above his collarbones. The light caresses left tingling subdued sensations in its trail and Rei was almost 87% sure that his touch receptors were strangely getting more and more sensitive with each passing second.

' _Something is definitely wrong.'_   Rei's gears in his mind turned viciously, trying to search for any explanation the current situation.  _'Nagisa-kun would never do something like this. Is he drunk? No, he's not one to be drinking alcohol… Could it be that he was possessed by a lecherous spiritual entity?!'_

Rei's inner monologue was cut short when Nagisa took off his red-rimmed glasses and set them on the nightstand. He struggled to break free and escape from this seemingly possessed Nagisa's captivity, but the current Nagisa was strong;  _too strong,_ even. The blonde boy continued his ministrations on his prey; unbuttoning Rei's blue shirt and running cool fingers over his torso, pinkish eyes darkened with lust. Rei's breaths started coming out in short pants, his heart pumping at a maddeningly fast pace with each fleeting touches Nagisa' fingers left on his body. Something was stirring to life down under.

"Shhh, Rei-chan. I'll make you feel good."

Nagisa leaned over to whisper seductively into his ear, licking the shell of his earlobe then blowing softly, and Rei gasped. Forcing himself to avoid Nagisa's piercing stare (and thinking  _'why the heck was he so sexy licking his lips like that?!'_ ), Rei closed his eyes, feeling every bones and fiber in his body melting under the smaller one's touch. The moments that followed were recorded as a huge jumbled mess in Rei's mind as he experienced pleasure of a terrifying degree, his rational thinking clouded and hazed by with desire.

Somehow, at some point, Rei had responded towards Nagisa's seductive caresses positively and soon he turned the tables. He rolled them over so that he was on top of the currently breathless blonde boy and returned the favour, relishing in the feeling of soft skin shivering and tensing when he brushed over the sensitive pressure points.

Rei was desperate for more, but for once in his life, he felt clueless.  _'I know how it works between heterosexual couples but this… how should I continue?!'_

"Rei-chan… Aahnn.. Give me… m-more.."

Nagisa was writhing underneath him; face flushed, half-lidded eyes glazing with tears of pleasure and a thin line of saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. It seemed that he had forgotten how to swallow, and the usual Rei would have been disgusted by this sight that was, of course, not beautiful at all. On the contrary, he was getting more excited and enticed; pants getting impossibly tighter and uncomfortable.

"Hurry, Rei-chan… Hold me."

Hearing the softly uttered wanton request, Rei stopped hesitating and proceeded to experimentally grind his hips against Nagisa's, earning him a loud moan from the other. He took the liberty to interpret the moan as a green light (and that he was doing this the right way) and placed his hands underneath Nagisa's thighs, lifting and wrapping the long slender limbs around his waist. By now, all coherent thoughts and questions had left Rei's mind; no longer was he worried about how he had arrived at the foreign house in the first place, why was Nagisa acting so lewd and goddamn sexy or why were they engaging in an act only lovers were meant to do. All he could think about was how perfectly compatible their bodies were and  _god_ , he  _needed_  more of this,  _needed_ more of Nagisa so  _so bad_.

Nagisa reciprocated to the increased pace; lifting up his hips in tandem to meet Rei's fervent thrusts. He had already been reduced to a sweaty, panting and moaning mess, and Rei had completely forgotten all the reasons as to why he was feverishly humping Nagisa, of all people.

Rei was pretty sure that by the time he regained his voice, he could only produce animalistic grunts, pathetic whimpers and lustful moans. The bed (' _Whose bed was it?',_ Rei wondered) creaked under their bodies with each frenzy thrust and the headboard produced an obscenely loud repetitive sound upon contact with the wall. The friction of their clothed erections was too much, and the pleasure and warmth building up within him finally overflowed. Rei gave one particularly hard grind, rolling his hips  _just right_  before coming with a loud cry and collapsing onto Nagisa, whose sounds of ecstasy, tightening legs around Rei's waist and beautifully arched back indicated that he had reached his completion as well.

"Rei-chan… Kiss me." Nagisa pleaded breathlessly.

One trembling hand reached up to stroke Rei's cheek tenderly, and the way Nagisa was staring at him so lovingly was almost unbearable. He leaned down to plant a warm kiss on the blonde boy's inviting lips, and since this time the kiss was of his own accord (unlike the forced one he had yesterday), Rei closed his eyes to savour the moment, feeling Nagisa's lips curl into a small satisfied smile.

When Rei opened his eyes, he found himself staring at his own bedroom's ceiling, and he blinked.

Nagisa was nowhere to be seen; vanished into thin air as if he was merely a figment of Rei's wildest imaginations. He looked at the deformed black pillow lying next to him. Its shape was bent at funny angles, almost as if it had been crushed by a heavy weight or hugged very  _very_  tightly by another person.

The uncomfortable wet and sticky sensations at his nether regions confirmed his suspicions. Rei's violet eyes widened considerably as the truth dawned upon him.

' _Did I just have a wet dream about Nagisa?!'_

* * *

Nagisa was uncharacteristically less talkative early that morning, but immediately returned to his usual self after sensing the awkward situation. At least he was still in a much better state than Rei; the poor boy had noticeable dark circles under his eyes –concrete evidence of his inability to fall back asleep after the disturbing dream he had- and even his crimson-rimmed spectacles could not fully hide them.

He had spent a good portion of the night pondering on the reasons that led towards him dreaming about  _that,_ but he was unable to come up with any tolerable explanations. He recalled reading somewhere that wet dreams usually involve people whom one hold a strong desire for, and boys would commonly dream of their crushes or idolized celebrities.

' _So does this mean that… I'm unconsciously **yearning** for him?'  _Rei casted a side glance to look at the breaststroke swimmer who was showing no signs of shutting up, muttering animatedly about the delicious yakitori he had last night. Rei sighed and adjusted his glasses, though they were not threatening to slip or anything. The best way to settle this issue that was continuously bugging him was probably to confront the cause of it all.

"Nagisa-kun, we need to talk."

"But we are talking, Rei-chan."

"No, as in we need to  _really_  talk _._  A meaningful talk. A discussion, of some sort."

Nagisa paused in his tracks to turn and look at Rei; his eyes did not hesitate to flash a hint of hurt. Did Rei-chan think that all the talking they were doing up to this point meaningless?

"Okay, I'm all ears. What do you want to talk about?"

Rei didn't expect Nagisa to agree so wholeheartedly to the idea of talking about serious matters for once, but he cleared his throat and said what was on his mind anyway.

"Yesterday, we… you know,  _k-kissed._ "

Nagisa flinched at the mention of the kiss. He did not regret it (how can he when Rei-chan's lips were even softer than he had imagined), but now he was afraid of the consequences of his reckless action. _'So I was right… Rei-chan is bothered by the kiss.'_

"Mm-hmm. What about it?" He clutched his bag tighter, feeling his heart pound against his ribcage. Though he tried to appear nonchalant and unbothered, deep down inside, Nagisa was utterly scared. He was frightened that this would be the end, feared that Rei-chan was going to cut all ties with him.

Was it a mistake?

"You see, I just… I want to know. Why did you do that?"

Nagisa gulped nervously and fiddled with his watch, taking one glance at the time and noting that they still had around 15 minutes before school starts. He had wanted to avoid discussing the matter altogether, but judging from the determined expression Rei-chan was wearing right now, it was clear that Rei-chan would not let go of the topic until he was satisfied with the answer: an answer that Nagisa could not provide.

"I just thought that your lips looked really soft, like a girl's!"

The real reason behind the kiss was simple: he just wanted to. In any case, it was absolutely normal to want to kiss the person you're in love with, right? Nevertheless, the answer he gave was true, too. Those pinkish lips did look tempting and inviting.

"Then, are you saying that you would go around kissing any lips that looked soft?"

Nagisa's eyes widened upon hearing the question. Was Rei-chan implying that he was a Casanova?!

"What? No no no, it's just you Rei-chan!" He flailed his arms in front of him in a panicked gesture, shaking his head vigorously to further emphasize his denial.

"Why is it only me?" Rei pressed on; curiousity getting the better of him.

It was apparent that Nagisa was struggling to come up with a proper reply because he fidgeted and tore his eyes away from Rei's burning gaze; an action he would make only at times when he was hesitating in his words. He contemplated: Should he confess right away and tell Rei-chan that the kiss was a proof of his love, or shouldn't he?

"Because you're… special. It wouldn't feel right with other people." It was more of a neutral answer, but Nagisa couldn't help the loud thundering heartbeat of his as he waited for any signs of discomfort or disapproval from Rei. There was nothing in Rei's expression that could give away what his actual feelings were, except for the faint hint of pink dusting his cheeks.

"..glad."

Rei's reply came out mumbled and sounded more like a grumble, so Nagisa had to ask Rei to repeat, which he did, albeit half-heartedly.

"I'm  _glad_  that… you know… it's just me." Rei said it louder and clearer this time. He scoffed, pushed his glasses (with a shaky hand) and started walking towards school at an abnormally fast pace, leaving behind a furiously blushing Nagisa.

After recovering from the momentary shock (honestly, he did not expect Rei's words at all), Nagisa wasted no time and ran forward to catch up, glomping the azure haired boy from behind with a screeching "Rei-chaaaaan!".

That morning, Rei learnt that walking 3km from the train station to school with a fully grown person latching onto you throughout the whole journey is a difficult task and, not to mention, embarrassing. But he endured it anyway, because the beaming smile Nagisa had plastered on his face was worth all the trouble.

Well, at least he got his answer, for now. He'd still have to find a way to calm his racing heart and stop remembering the dream he had, though.

* * *

Miraculously, they managed to arrive at school on time even though the painstaking journey of dragging a clingy Nagisa along had slowed them down a bit. A few hundred meters before they approached the school compound, Nagisa had reluctantly detached himself from his vice grip on Rei and walked beside him instead. Sure, he wanted to label Rei as  _his_ and openly display his devoted affection, but he didn't want Rei-chan to be uncomfortable under their schoolmates' judgmental gazes.

"Rei-chan, go ahead to class first, okay? I think I need to take a dump."

Before Rei even got the chance to nag at Nagisa to stop being so straightforward about everything and be more subtle about his personal matters, the boy had already dumped his bag onto Rei's unwilling hands and scurried to the nearest washroom. Sighing tiredly, Rei trudged on to their classroom on the second floor, slinging Nagisa's orange backpack onto his green one and only noticing how unbelievably light the bag was compared to his.

' _Seriously, what does this guy bring to school, anyway? Did he leave all of his books in the class locker? That means he never does his homework...'_

It was not a surprising fact, actually, considering that the jubilant blonde always borrowed his homework and assignments the day (and sometimes, on more severe occasions, a few  _hours_ ) before the deadline, using a lame excuse of wanting to 'compare the answers'. Rei was reminded of the History handouts he had lent to Nagisa that were yet to be returned and approached the table to drop Nagisa's bag, when suddenly something caught his eyes.

There were words scribbled on Nagisa's table in varying handwritings (which were most definitely not Nagisa's, because the boy's handwriting was almost unintelligible), some written in bold using permanent markers, some less visible as the chalk dust had worn off.

The fact that the table's surface was fully covered in these words was much less shocking than the meaning that these words carried. Upon closer inspection, Rei found that they were insults; menacing remarks and hurtful curse words guaranteed to turn even the most beautiful smile into a sad scowl. The words overlapped each other, but he could still make out a few.

 _'_ ANNOYING BASTARD'

'Go kill yourself, stupid!'

'FAKE'

'I HATE YOU'

'FAG'

Rei felt his heart clench painfully as he read the offensive insults. Were these really directed to Nagisa? To Hazuki Nagisa, who was always so cheerful, likeable and adored by many for his friendly personality? It all seemed so surreal, because as far as he had known from sociological theories, these name-calling and intense hatred could only blossom from an action the person had done previously; something that could spark hate and loathing.

Rei noticed that his hands were already curling into fists as he tried to regain his composure. The throbbing pain in his chest had yet to subside. Well, it certainly felt as if he was the one getting insulted.

' _What on earth did Nagisa-kun do to deserve this?'_


	8. Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Rei makes a brief appeareance.  
> Sometimes acting before thinking is not the way to go. Nagisa learns this the hard way.

Rei-chan had been acting strange for the past few days, and Nagisa was having a bad feeling about it.

He had noticed the change in Rei-chan's behavior when he had went to Rei-chan's house early in the morning to leave for school. On normal occasions, they would have waited for each other at the intersection that separated their homes, though it was more often for Rei to be the one doing the waiting. Nagisa would arrive a little bit later, skipping with a piece of toast still halfway chewed in his mouth and chipper as always. This time, however, Nagisa was feeling particularly sweet and romantic, and he suspected that his mood for love might had been influenced by the chick flick he had watched last night, in which the young man fetched his girlfriend from home with a bouquet of flowers every morning.

' _Imagine how cute a starry-eyed and flustered Rei-chan will be when he sees me in front of his doorsteps, with a bouquet of fresh red roses and a charming smile!'_

He contemplated on doing the same (not that he's declaring that Rei-chan is his boyfriend, but yeah, they're getting there) but for now, the idea seemed a bit too far-fetched.

Much to Nagisa's chagrin, his enthusiasm was met with Mrs Ryugazaki smiling apologetically.

"Sorry, dear, but Rei already left earlier. He said he needed to return some books that were overdue. I hope you're fine with going by yourself?"

Her voice was calm and soothing as she ruffled and patted Nagisa's golden hair lovingly, and the petite boy melted under the affectionate touch.

"It's okay, I understand! Thank you for telling me!" Nagisa responded in a sing-song voice and proceeded to walk to the train station alone.

So much for a romantic morning.

It would've sounded like a logical and believable excuse for Rei-chan to break their habit of going to school together, except that it wasn't, because Nagisa knew that Rei-chan never kept a book until it is overdue. More often than not, the theory-obsessed bookworm would've kept his nose buried in the latest books he had borrowed and finish them in less than a few hours. Even if he brings the books back home, he  _never_  exceeds the due date.

Another queer thing about this whole 'Rei-chan leaving home early to return books' conspiracy was that Iwatobi High's library system would only be active from 8 am onwards. It was barely even 7, so if Rei-chan were to insert the books into the drop box now, the smartcode wouldn't be detected and it would still be considered as checked out. Besides, based on his observations (through stalking, though Nagisa tried hard to deny this) Rei-chan always returned books after school; it was more convenient that way.

He wasn't saying that Mrs. Ryugazaki was lying; she was always so honest and sincere, but Rei-chan most definitely had something up his sleeves to come up with an excuse like that. Nagisa could  _sense_  it.

Although Nagisa was notorious for being an airhead most of the time, there were important occasions in which he could think properly and delve deeper, pinpointing the details and making inferences. After spending a good portion of his time around an outstandingly knowledgeable person (Rei-chan, of course, who else?), it was only natural that some of the wisdom would rub off on him.

With no one to chat to, time seemed to flow at a frustratingly slow pace and the train ride felt perpetual.  _'Was the journey always this long?'_ Nagisa mused, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It was then that it dawned on him how much Rei-chan's existence had affected him. It might sound a tad bit too dramatic and sappy, but for him, the blue-haired boy was like the missing puzzle piece he had always been looking for and couldn't bear losing; not when he had finally allowed himself to fall in love again.

He sighed when the middle-aged salaryman sitting next to him (on the seat that was usually occupied by Rei-chan) started nodding off, his head threatening to fall on top of Nagisa's and his thinning hair brushing against the flaxen-haired boy's shoulder. Nagisa inched away from the man and gazed out of the clear window to absent-mindedly watch the blurred scenery of Iwatobi passing by, his mind falling into deep thoughts for the rest of the eerily silent ride to school.

' _Could it be that Rei-chan is trying to avoid me?'_

* * *

Rei-chan was acting weird again.

Nagisa arrived at school just in time before the school bell rang, and he was heaving by the time he reached his class. Upon entering the classroom, he was greeted by the sight of a scowling Rei-chan scrubbing vigorously at his table with a piece of blue cloth (the one he always carried around, so it seemed) and needless to say, Nagisa was intrigued. The other occupants of the classroom paid no heed to Rei's actions, as though it was a completely normal scene.

The sounds of hurried footsteps brought Rei out of his reverie and when he saw the familiar blonde heading towards him, he stopped scrubbing, instantly hiding the cloth behind his back and fiddling with his crimson glasses.

"There you are, Rei-chan!"

Launching himself at Rei to engulf the boy in a tight embrace, Nagisa nuzzled his face into the crook of Rei's neck, inhaling the faint citrus scent mixed with lemongrass that he had come to miss (though it had been merely a day since they last met). Rei groaned in annoyance, but still awkwardly wrapped his arms around Nagisa's waist, trying to ignore the warmth creeping onto his cheeks and the stares of their classmates. It was already a common occurrence and he was getting used to it, but the embarrassment was still there.

"What were you doing, anyway? I saw you scrubbing at my desk with all your might! You looked cute, all focused like that!" Nagisa beamed at him and Rei's face paled immediately.

Oh no.

He had to make sure that Nagisa didn't know about the insults and curses scribbled on his table every morning, at least not until he managed to find the culprit.

He had to protect Nagisa at all costs.

"Y-your table was… dusty." He coughed lightly, striving to chase away the lump forming in his throat. He had to somehow make this excuse believable. "Yes, it was dusty and filthy. It's not beautiful. And you know how I hate things that defy the rules of beauty." Rei was pretty sure that he was just rambling and spouting nonsense but he hoped Nagisa would buy it.

"Awww, that's so sweet of you, Rei-chan! But you shouldn't have, I could clean it on my own, you know?"

As Rei stared into the sparkling dark pink orbs gazing up at him with such visible adoration, he felt a painful twinge in his heart as he recalled the words scribbled on Nagisa's table this morning. How could someone hate this boy? His smile was so bright and beautiful, it could rival the sun!

Okay, maybe he was  _kinda_  annoying at times, that Rei had to admit.

It was just like he had expected; the person who was doing it knew that Nagisa was unaware of the current circumstances and that Rei was trying to protect his feelings. Whoever it was that was responsible for this wretched way of conveying hatred and loathing, that person had seen Rei meticulously rubbing the words off every morning before Nagisa could see them, and was not pleased with it.

It  _had_  to be someone from their class. Rei was 100% sure of it.

"Hey, Rei-chan, why did you leave earlier this morning? I felt sooooo lonely on the train…" Nagisa gushed on, pouting lightly. "There was this old man… His drool almost got on my uniform! And I nearly forgot to get down at the correct stop!"

The screeching sound of the sliding door opening startled them both (Rei could practically _hear_  the ferum (III) oxide crusts clashing against each other; a signal that some oiling maintenance was due) and Nagisa unwillingly released his hold. Their homeroom teacher entered with the attendance file in her hand, and the sounds of shoes scuffling resounded in the classroom as the students scrambled to return to their respective seats. Rei did the same, but not before catching a glimpse of Nagisa's table to double-check in case there were any traces of the writings left.

Fortunately, there were none, and Rei sighed in relief. It was the right decision to bring a bottle of thinner to school, it made cleaning up much easier.

He started feeling a little bit relaxed, listening to the teacher taking attendance, until he heard someone snickered loudly within close proximity. Whipping his head around towards the source of the sound, Rei saw one of his classmates, Hikaru (who was seated two tables away from him) giggling and muttering something to her neighbouring friend, Yui. The two girls paused to look at Nagisa before laughing again.

Rei felt his eyes twitch and his instincts tingling. The girlish peals of laughter could insinuate a lot of things; perhaps she's crushing on Nagisa? Or was she mocking him for something? Either way, Rei was not pleased.

He could feel his inner detective awakening.

* * *

The once deserted and grubby sore excuse for a pool was now a long stretch of crystal clear water, tinted in an interesting shade of blue; cerulean mixed with cobalt, and it looked far more hospitable than it was before. The bluish colour was merely an illusion -a reflection of the endless sky soaring above them-, that much was already in Rei's knowledge, but he still couldn't stop thinking how beautiful the water looked like. At least now the idea of swimming in the pool didn't seem so bad.

The sound of water sloshing around as Nagisa plopped down at the edge of the pool and dipped his feet inside was among the few sounds that could be heard in the vacant area (save for Nagisa and him), the other being long strings of words coming from none other than the jubilant blonde. Rei made his way to sit next to Nagisa, coughing lightly when his shoulder brushed against Nagisa's.

"Mako-chan told me that they filled this pool with water yesterday. We can finally start our practice tomorrow! And there's also a tournament in 4 weeks…"

Rei  _tried_ to focus on what Nagisa was saying, he really did, but his mind was preoccupied with the scene he had witnessed in the class earlier. Detective Ryugazaki Rei was too busy weighing the circumstances and inferencing based on his observations.

Was Hikaru involved? If she was, then what could be the possible explanation as to why she hated Nagisa so much up to the point of trying to hurt his feelings? She always seemed like a nice, helpful person and she had quite a number of admirers. Though when looking from the other side of the coin, there's a possibility that she might be harbouring feelings for Nagisa...

' _Now that won't do, because then I will not get the chance to confess my own feelings to Nagisa…'_ The bluenette paused to replay his thoughts in his head. _'Wait a second, what **feelings**?'  _ Rei's violet eyes widened as he felt the brick of reality dropped on him. _'Since when did I stop denying this?! I-it was supposed to be a teenage-hormonal-imbalance-phase kind of thing!'_

His cheeks were warming up considerably, and he was too far gone in his mental debate to notice that his blonde counterpart had stopped chattering and was waving a small hand in front of him enthusiastically.

"Rei-chan? Rei-chan, hellooo?" When the other boy did not respond to his call ( _'Is that steam coming out from Rei-chan's head? And why is his face so red?'_ ), Nagisa sulked, supple cheeks puffed out in indignance at the disheartening notion that Rei was trying to ignore him. Slowly, he lowered his impish hands into the pool to scoop out a handful of water and leaned in to the unsuspecting boy, inching forwards until his lips stopped merely inches away from Rei's right ear.

"REI-CHAAAANN!" A shrill voice boomed in Rei's ear, accompanied by the sensation of cold liquid hitting his face (déjà vu much) and he leaped up instantly like a cat dropped in a bathtub filled with cold water; feet clambering in a futile attempt to find grip on the slippery ground and hands clawing in empty air to grasp at anything, just  _anything_  to stabilize himself. He felt himself floating for a fraction of a second before tumbling down just as fast, inadvertently grabbing Nagisa's sleeves and dragging the boy along with him. Nagisa's dark pinkish orbs widened twice their size when he realized what was happening, but by then, it was too late.

Together, they fell into the depths of the pool.

* * *

The sudden heavy pressure exerted by the water was restricting his breathing and cutting off his oxygen supply, and all Rei could think of was ' _I don't want to die'._

It was his first experience of being underwater, and Rei wanted to cry at the thought of it being his last.

The awe at the beauty of the translucent liquid that he had just admired a few moments ago was quickly morphing into fear. Caught off guard by Nagisa's piercing yell and even more so by their unceremonious fall, Rei started panicking on reflex. His limbs were getting heavier and heavier with each passing second as he started gradually sinking to the bottom of the pool.

Rei's lilac eyes could catch glimpses of little bubbles escaping from his mouth, increasing in size as they rose to the top. He struggled to make his way towards the blinding rays of light and trail after the bubbles, moving his arms forward in smooth strokes and kicking with his legs in an awkward attempt at mimicking a swimmer. The theory was unquestionably perfect –his growing collection of swimming books taking up the space of his mini library was proof of that- but somehow it didn't work. He was still sinking like a rock (or to put it in a more sophisticated terminology; a submarine).

Nagisa was nowhere to be found, so Rei figured that he must have had swam away with ease. For a brief instance, the cobalt-haired boy felt envious at Nagisa for being able to do something that he, the almighty Rei, could not.

Why was Nagisa not coming to save him?

_'Oh. I forgot. He didn't know that I can't swim.'_

Well, Rei did not really blame Nagisa for this; the cheerful brat meant no harm and only wanted attention. Rei was partly to be held accountable as well, considering that he had been spacing out when he should have known that Nagisa despised being ignored and was very,  _very_ unpredictable.

' _How ironic, to be thinking of the person who had indirectly caused your death, right on the brink of death itself…'_

The strenuous burden on his lungs increased steadily and his mind started getting hazy (Rei's pretty sure his nerve cells are rapidly dying one by one now), his limbs going almost entirely numb. Rei knew that his heart was pumping at a maddening pace to strive to supply enough oxygen to all parts of his body, but with no input, there would be no output. Closing his stinging eyes and feeling water rushing into his opened mouth, Rei could practically  _taste_ the chlorine and he hated it.

He'd very much prefer the addicting taste of Nagisa's lips against his; with a tinge of the strawberry ice cream the boy seemed to be so fond of, and a sweet, indescribable flavor that was just so  _Nagisa_ (Rei always wondered if the blonde had lip balm on but never got the chance to ask). An intense wave of regret of not being able to kiss his love interest anymore assaulted his senses.

' _Ah, I really should have confessed earlier. And I still haven't solved the mystery…_ '

Along with the fleeting regretful thought, the last thing that came to his mind was Nagisa:

Nagisa with his twinkling magenta eyes, Nagisa with those tempting luscious lips curved into a smile, Nagisa with that beautiful,  _beautiful_  silky golden hair he had come to love so much, Nagisa with his melodious voice calling out for him so endearingly…

Rei could vaguely hear the muffled sound of someone screaming his name before his world went black as he succumbed to the feeling of water's ruthless claws reaching out to engulf him completely.


	9. Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa isn't going to let Water take his beloved Rei-chan away from him.  
> Also, Makoto is an oblivious cockblock.

When the wicked idea of screaming Rei's name right into the poor boy's ear popped in Nagisa's mind, he had certainly not expected the violent reaction that came with it. He was never one to think before acting, but Rei never seemed to mind whenever he pulled a prank on him, so what would make this time any different, right?

Nagisa came up for air and waddled to the side of the pool, coughing out some water he had accidentally swallowed in his free fall. He immediately fell into fits of giggles, unable to contain his amusement.  _'Seriously, though, what was Rei-chan thinking about? His expression was so priceless!'_

"Rei-chan! That was kinda fun, don't you think?"

His words were greeted with silence. Though a big grin was still etched onto his face, Nagisa made a whiny sound akin to that of a kid denied of his candy, maintaining the earlier thinking that Rei was trying to ignore him. The sound of water splashing behind him vaguely resembled the sounds of someone struggling underwater, but it might well be just his imagination.

"Come on, Rei-chan… Are you still angry with me? I'm sorry~ "

Drawling out the last syllable in an attempt to sound cute (not that he wasn't already), he turned around to face the pool, frowning slightly when Rei-chan was nowhere in sight.  _'Is he sulking underwater?'_ Nagisa pondered. Not knowing the extent of Rei's capability of holding his breath, Nagisa had simply assumed that Rei-chan, being naturally athletic and perfect as ever, could last at least a couple of minutes. He'd seen Rei-chan attentively flipping through 'Swimming for Dummies: Vol. 2' just last week, surely he would have gotten all the theories right by now?

Nagisa crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently on the cold tile. His movements felt lagged and heavy due to the soaking wet clothes he was wearing, but soon his taps found a steady rhythm while he waited for Rei-chan to finally be out of breath and resurface.

15 seconds passed.

45 seconds went by. Rei chan had yet to reappear.

A full minute and a half. Nagisa was getting a bit worried now, but he won't back down just yet.

Two minutes elapsed, and a concerned voice nagged at the back of Nagisa's head. He recalled that Rei-chan had once told him about the wonders of human brain, enthusiastically explaining on how a brain can only last around three minutes before the cells start to die, though the time really vary from person to person. After about five minutes, the brain damage would have been substantial enough to be irreversible.

Glancing at his dripping wristwatch, Nagisa got a little jumpy when he noticed that three minutes had passed.

Careful as to not step and slip on the large puddle that had formed beneath him, Nagisa bent over the pool's edge to peer into the water, curious eyes squinting lightly to search for Rei's whereabouts. His vision caught a human-shaped silhouette -which was undoubtedly Rei-chan- about 5m away from where he was standing, slowly sinking to the base…

' _Wait a sec, Rei-chan's **sinking**?'_

Waves of immense terror and panic crashed on Nagisa's conscience as he registered the sight of Rei-chan,  _his_ Rei-chan,  _his precious_   _and beloved Rei-chan_ drowning right in front of his eyes. Nagisa momentarily froze. His heartbeat was pounding so loudly that he felt it threatening to leap out, and he was so scared _,_ so  _terrified_ that he'd lose Rei.

It all happened too fast. Before his mind could even decide on the best action to be taken, Nagisa had screamed Rei's name and found himself already diving into the pool (school uniform and shoes be damned), quickly making his way towards Rei. At this point, the blue-haired boy had already closed his eyes, the lack of oxygen probably getting the better of him, and he wasn't even struggling for air anymore. The water stung his opened eyes, but Nagisa could care less; all that mattered was saving Rei-chan. Mustering all the strength that was left in him -which was not much, really, because he was so taken aback by the fear of losing Rei once and for all- the blonde hauled Rei up and pulled him out of the pool, chest heaving and gasping for air once they reached the surface.

Rei's body felt cold in his arms, so cold it was terrifying.

' _Is he already…'_ Nagisa couldn't bring himself to even think of the word. Shaking his head to ward off the pessimistic thought, he leaned over Rei's mouth to check for breathing. Negative; there were no puffs of air hitting his cheek. Nagisa tried pressing his left ear close to Rei's toned chest to search for a heartbeat. He caught on faint 'loop-dubb's repeating, but the pulse was irregular and sluggish.

The nagging voice in his head returned, and now it's screaming 'It's all your fault!', 'You killed Rei-chan!' and all the other nasty things Nagisa could only meekly agree with.

"It's all my fault." He breathed the words out, and the weight of the words sank in like daggers stabbing into his already aching heart.  _'Rei-chan is going to die and it's all my fault…'_

Nagisa's eyes were wide, hollow and filled with painful guilt, and he placed his trembling hands on Rei-chan's cold body. For now, Rei-chan's alive, but he's not breathing. Nagisa had to do something, he knew he  _had_  to. He considered the option of calling Mako-chan (Haru-chan not included, he never carries his phone) for help, but there would be no time for that. Besides, his cellphone might already be dysfunctional, so he had to rely on his limited memory of CPR steps.

' _If only I had paid attention when the teacher explained about it…'_   Nagisa thought, but there's no time to regret, either.

Struggling to recall the CPR training he had received back in his middle school days, Nagisa began by removing the red tie Rei was wearing and unbuttoning the first few buttons. Had it been under other circumstances, Nagisa would've gotten excited at the chance of undressing his crush, but now there's a life at stake! Then, he started giving chest compressions, applying firm pressure and checking for signs of breathing time and again.

"Come on Rei-chan! Please… Please wake up…" Nagisa whimpered and choked a sob as tears began streaming down his cheeks, dripping onto Rei-chan's chest drop by drop. He desperately repeated the steps, all the while praying to god that he was doing it right. Rei-chan's still not breathing, so he alternated the compressions with mouth-to-mouth.

His lips made contact with Rei's, and that was when he noticed that Rei's lips were icy. Nagisa began fearing the worst.

"No, no… Rei-chan, don't leave me…" Nagisa chanted Rei's name like a mantra, voice quivering and tremors shaking his whole body. He could already picture it in his frantic mind; the scene of Rei's funeral, Rei's mother sobbing uncontrollably in front of an open coffin and her sad violet eyes staring at Nagisa, affection now replaced with anger as she yells at him, blaming him for her dearest child's death. He didn't want that… A life without Rei-chan… It's better to not be alive at all.

Nagisa's actions grew more frenzied and he almost went hysterical, but when he leaned down to deliver the next mouth-to-mouth, Rei jolted upright and coughed loudly, spewing out water onto the tile. He sucked in deep breaths to make up for the lack of air for the past few minutes and finally noticed Nagisa lying half on top of him, eyes brimming with tears.

' _Rei-chan is alive.'_ Nagisa's lips started trembling as his gazed pink orbs met with Rei's lilac ones, incapable of holding his feelings in anymore.  _'Rei-chan is alive!'_ He lurched forward and threw his arms around Rei, breaking into full-blown sobs and hugging Rei tightly like there's no tomorrow.

"Uwaaahhh I'm so sorry, Rei-chan!" He cried into Rei's shoulder, sobbing grossly and not giving a damn about the snot that was flowing freely onto the man's soaked shirt. Rei's body was starting to regain its usual comforting warmth, and Nagisa only tightened his embrace, never wanting to let go.

"Nagisa-kun? S-stop, it's hard to bre—"

"Rei-chan I'm sorry… I'm sorry… please don't hate me please don't—" Nagisa nuzzled his face closer, still sobbing pathetically. His voice croaked and he was sure as hell that he looked ugly and miserable right now, but Rei-chan lived. Rei-chan lived and that's all that mattered.

Rei, on the other hand, had fully recovered his consciousness and did not really appreciate having a 55kg grown teenage boy squeezing his lungs out when he had just barely survived a traumatic drowning experience. He listened to Nagisa's whimpers and muffled words, and pried the boy off him to get a clearer look of his face.

When Nagisa looked up at him, Rei gasped, feeling the familiar clenching and acrobatics movements his heart seemed so fond of doing whenever Nagisa was around. Throughout the few months he had spent knowing the petite blonde, Rei realized that he had never once seen the cheerful boy cry. Nagisa was always so joyful, always a bundle of trouble with energy so boundless that Rei suspected could be on par with the amount released in nuclear fission reaction, always smiling merrily and making Rei's heart swell in adoration.

Now, seeing the glazed eyes red and a little swollen from the tears, the equally reddish button nose twitching when the boy sniffed and the trembling pink lips Rei had thought he would never have the chance to kiss again, Rei couldn't help but to wear a soft smile.

Sure, Nagisa was the one who had  _almost_ killed him, but Nagisa was also his saviour. It was an accident, anyway.

Upon seeing Rei's kind smile, the smile that wordlessly conveyed ' _it's okay, now, everything's fine. I'm alright, aren't I?'_ , Nagisa just cried even harder, burying his face into the crook of Rei's neck and wailing loudly.

"I was so scared, Rei-chan! I thought I was –hic- going to lose you! I'm so sorry… -hic- I love you so much, Rei-chan—"

Rei's eyes widened.

' _Am I imagining things? Did he just say…'_

"Nagisa-kun," Rei said with a firm voice, pulling away from the embrace to look at Nagisa square in the eyes. "Did you just…  _confess_ to me?"

For a brief moment, Nagisa stared blankly at him, trying to recall his words before a blush crept onto his face.

' _Ahhhh, my stupid mouth!'_

He wasn't sure how to reply to Rei's question. Denying it would have made him look stupid, because those words  _did_ come out from his mouth and Rei-chan had heard it loud and clear, but confirming it might jeopardize their friendship. It had taken quite the effort to approach Rei-chan and receive his trust, and no matter how desperate he was for Rei-chan's love, he knew that his (possibly) unrequited love would just be in the way…

"I mean, platonically, of course! I love you as a… a f-friend!"

Rei stared, his serious eyes unwavering, making Nagisa cower timidly under the intense gaze.

"You know, Nagisa-kun… When you lie, you tend to look upwards, scratch your head and grin like an idiot."

"No, I don't! I—"

"You're doing it now."

Rei had to bit his lips to stifle a laugh when watching Nagisa getting all flustered, though he himself was getting embarrassed too (because Nagisa was still sitting in his lap, damn it!). Nagisa -who was infamous for his nerves of steel and lack of shame, decency, sense of personal space and all things relevant to a courteous human being- was  _blushing oh so cutely_ in front of him (in his lap, mind you), and god, he's so beautiful and Rei just yearned to gobble him up and—

' _Calm down, my friend.'_   Rei knew he was being ridiculous for he was talking to his excited 'little one' for god's sake, but it had to be done.  _'Remember How to Win His Heart 3rd edition... Step 1: the confession.'_

His racing heart calmed down a little as he recited the exact words from the book in his head. It didn't go as planned; he was supposed to be the one confessing first, but at least now he knew that the feeling was mutual.

"I… too," His voice came out whispered, stuck in his throat, even, and Rei cursed inwardly at his inability to express himself boldly when it came to things like this.

Nagisa blinked foolishly; a cue that he had to repeat.

' _God, this is so embarrassing...'_

"I love you too!" Rei finally said, sighing in relief at the success of getting the burden of keeping his admiration a secret out of his system. He couldn't believe that he was proclaiming his love, right after a near-death experience, directed to the person who was responsible for it, no less.

He waited for a response.

"Rei-chan."

"Yes, Nagisa-kun?"

"Slap me."

"Uhh, okay?"

The blow was delivered swiftly (and quite gently, actually) to Nagisa's plump right cheek, earning him a yelp and a dragged whine of pain.

As far as he's concerned, Rei thought that with the copious amount of tears Nagisa had been shedding ever since he was saved from drowning to death, it was simply impossible for the boy to cry anymore. He was proven wrong, because Nagisa had started crying again, clutching onto Rei's wet shirt for dear life, making him wonder if it was due to extreme happiness upon realizing that it wasn't a dream, or because of the pain inflicted by his slap.

Step 2 was ' _give him a hug, and then a kiss',_ so Rei wrapped his strong arms around Nagisa and returned the embrace, loving the way Nagisa flawlessly fit into his hold like they were meant to be.

Just seconds before Rei could kiss his lover (can he call Nagisa that, now?), the door clicked open, revealing Makoto and Haruka. The olive-haired boy was startled by the sight, as portrayed by his widened eyes and gaping mouth, while the latter had already stripped down to his swimming trunk and dashing towards the pool at lightning speed. Rei doubted that Haruka-senpai had seen them hugging, given the record time he had taken in making his way from the door to the pool.

It was biologically not viable to be that fast and elegant at the same time, but there're always exceptions.

"Gosh, Haru, I said wait!" Makoto exclaimed exasperatedly. "Ah, umm, did we… interrupt something?" Makoto asked, his usually gentle and mother-like smile twisted into an awkward grin, his face paling a little.

' _Argh, Mako-chan you cockblockkkkk!'_ Nagisa screamed in his head, feeling disappointed at their failed endeavour in sharing a second kiss.

* * *

"WHAT? You can't swim?!" The three shouted in unison (more of Nagisa shouting, really) when Rei explained how he managed to drown in the first place.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked, feeling a bit hurt that Rei-chan had been keeping this a secret the whole time. He was supposed to be taking responsibility of Rei-chan, remember?

"Like I can reveal such an embarrassing fact! I have my own pride, alright."

Makoto nodded, understanding the circumstances Rei was in. After all, he, for one, had been in a similar situation; not being able to tell them about his recurring phobia of the ocean. Maintaining his pride was one thing, but more than anything, he did not want to make them worry unnecessarily. Makoto was convinced that Rei had felt the same.

"You can learn, Rei," Makoto spoke up, flashing a warm smile in an attempt to provide some comfort. "We can teach you."

"Thank you, Makoto-senpai," Rei smiled back. He could really use some help.

* * *

In the end, it was decided that all of them would take turns in teaching Rei the basics since reading, when not coupled with hands-on training, proved to be insufficient. The training session was scheduled to start tomorrow, and Rei was already getting anxious.

Truthfully, the anxiety didn't originate from the idea of stepping into the place that had almost become his burial place, at least not entirely. Most of the giddiness he was feeling actually came from the golden-haired boy seated next to him, who had been restless and constantly fiddgeting since the train started moving.

The atmosphere was awkward, but of a pleasant sort.

"Hey, Rei-chan." Nagisa scooted closer and whispered, tugging lightly on Rei's sweatpants (he had changed into his spare clothes since their uniforms were utterly drenched).

"Hmm?" Rei-chan turned to look at him (thinking god, Nagisa is his  _lover_  now and he still couldn't believe it); excitement, worry and anticipation bubbling in his heart simultaneously when he saw the dazzling smile and the hopeful twinkle in Nagisa's bright pink orbs.

"Can I come over tonight?"


	10. Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei refuses some sexytime, wanting to do more research on the topic and come prepared (lol). Nagisa isn't going to have any of that shit.

A lot of things happened in a span of a day, and despite being highly intellectual, Rei couldn't quite comprehend everything just yet. He had encountered a life-threatening experience in the pool, seen Nagisa cry for the first time, confessed his secret love for Nagisa (after being in denial for so long) and finally gotten himself a lover. It hadn't been such a bad day; in fact, Rei had been engulfed in a warm cocoon of contentment now that he knew that his feelings were reciprocated.

Well, that was until Nagisa mentioned that he wanted to sleep over.

It was not that Rei hated having Nagisa over, and he's not worried about his family's reaction toward Nagisa's sudden appearance in their house either. In any case, they seemed to be accepting Nagisa very well and enjoyed his company, judging from the way they treated him kindly the last few times. Heck, sometimes Rei even wondered if his mother loved Nagisa more than she loved her own son, what with all the affection she lavishly showered him with!

But there was just  _something_ that made this time different.

They're lovers now, and lovers do  _things_  when they're alone, things Rei had absolutely zero experience in.

Presently, Ryugazaki Rei wished that the steady ground would just open up and swallow him whole.

He watched warily from the side as the golden haired boy skipped around in his room, marveling at the impressive collection of trophies and medals Rei had received back when he was still active in track and field events. Despite having seen the collection for a few times already, somehow it never ceased to amaze Nagisa.

"Everything about Rei-chan is soooo cool and impressive!" was what Nagisa had told him once, and Rei had responded with a blush and a pathetically stuttered "I-it's nothing, I just followed theories and c-calculations...", which was essentially the truth. His steps were always based on meticulous and intricate formulae, and Rei would never be satisfied until he got it right.

Nagisa was the sole person who had told Rei that he's beautiful, beautiful the way he is -no figures, no calculations, no theories- and Rei's thankful for that (though he had troubles expressing it).

Presumably slightly worn out from all the ruckus he was making, Nagisa plopped on the bed face down and hugged one of the black pillows close to his chest, burying his face into it fondly. Rei immediately felt his face heat up upon realizing that Nagisa had picked up the one he had accidentally humped when he was having the wet dream.

Coughing loudly to distract himself from the embarrassing thought, Rei cleared his throat to attract Nagisa's attention.

"Err, Nagisa-kun?"

"Mmhh..."

Nagisa stopped nuzzling the pillow and turned around to look at Rei. In the process, his pajama shirt (Rei's, actually, as always Nagisa almost never brought his with him) rode up his abdomen, exposing the milky alabaster skin teasingly. Rei could see the vividly displayed contours and outlines of Nagisa's pectoral muscles, as well as a tiny hint of dusky caramel patch of skin peeking out from underneath the clothes that Rei's perverted mind imagined to be Nagisa's nipple. Rei cursed under his breath; that sight was undoubtedly not good for his young vulnerable heart.

"Uh, do you want me to get us some drinks? Barley tea, maybe?"

"Oh Rei-chan… You and your barley tea!" Nagisa snorted and sat upright on the bed, shaking his head to signal his disapproval. "Nah, I'm not thirsty," he said with a smile. Noticing how much of a nervous wreck Rei was becoming at the time, he wanted to see how Rei handled the awkward ambiance.

"Then, what would you like to do? We can play games if you want to... But I have nothing other than chess and scrabbles, so don't expect too much."

Gaming was Nagisa's forte; it was one of the few things he could excel better than Rei besides swimming, but chess and scrabbles were hardly 'games' when classified according to Nagisa's standards. The last time they had a chess battle, Rei pulled the 3-steps checkmate trick on him and Nagisa vowed to never touch the checkered board again.

"It's okay, we can play another game, Rei-chan!"

With that, the jubilant boy stood up and ran toward Rei, grabbing his hand and tugging on it harshly. Both of them fell unceremoniously onto the cramped single bed in a jumbled mess of tangled limbs, and Nagisa's infectious laughter slowly faded out when he rolled them over. He climbed on top of Rei's stiff body, placing his bottom directly on Rei's thighs.

Nagisa was radiating comforting heat from the points where their bodies touched, and the room became eerily silent now that he'd stopped laughing.

Feeling anxious and intimidated under Nagisa's suddenly serious expression, Rei fiddled with his glasses and darted his eyes away, avoiding the intense gaze.

"W-what kind of... game is this, Nagisa-kun?"

Nagisa remained silent. His predatory eyes did not waver; instead they now sparkled almost cat-like. He's planning something, Rei could sense it. True enough, Nagisa leaned down in a painfully slow pace, shortening the distance between them and Rei could only think  _'Oh god he's going to kiss me again what is the correct angle should I lean to the left or right I can't screw this up-'_

Rei already had his eyes closed when out of the blue, rapid tickles attacked his sensitive sides. Things went downhill from there as Nagisa's nimble fingers left fleeting touches everywhere; the area just beneath his ribs, under his armpits and around his collarbones. Rei squirmed underneath the assaults and broke into an inevitable fit of giggles.

"We're playing the tickle game, Rei-chan! It's fun!" Nagisa squealed, the usual bright grin returning to his face as he continued tickling Rei. For some reason, Rei seemed to be ticklish all over, like his whole body was a huge blob of sensitive points, and the sadistic part of Nagisa enjoyed watching Rei writhing beneath him, helplessly trying to get away from his naughty hands.

Not to mention that Rei's laugh was mellifluous music to his ears.

"Don't- Na-nagi- sa!" Rei's protests came out in breathless pants. Tears prickled his eyes, and some were already leaking out and trailing down his cheeks. His face was flushed from laughing too much and his body had melted into a puddle of goo, but putting physics into practice, he managed to use the last few ounces of his strength to manipulate his weight and inertia, turning them over so that Nagisa was pinned beneath him.

 _'Ahh, revenge is sweet. I knew that inertia would come in handy someday,'_ Rei thought when he successfully caught Nagisa's wrists and held them down.

Nagisa struggled to break free from Rei's vice grips but to no avail; once Rei had made up his mind, his determination would not be shaken. Now that Rei was on top, gravity pulled his already loose red glasses downwards, leaving it crooked and hanging ridiculously off the bridge of his nose. He looked funny, but Nagisa had to stifle his oncoming laugh for fear of an angry Rei.

"Rei-chan, I was just kidding 'kay?" Nagisa grinned toothily, feigning innocence. "Let's play scrabbles!"

"Hmm..." Rei went silent, as if he was reconsidering his actions. The Rei prior to meeting Nagisa would have scowled angrily and furiously stalked off, unwilling to participate in such time-consuming and preposterous activity like tickling, but the current Rei was already exposed to the joys of fooling around, and Rei would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't curious to find out if Nagisa was ticklish.

 _'Two can play this game...'_ Rei thought to himself and smiled darkly. The corners of his mouth twitching upwards contradicted his menacing stare, and it sent icy shivers down Nagisa's spine.

"But Nagisa-kun, I'm thinking of returning the  _favour_..."

Upon hearing the playful threat laced in Rei's words, Nagisa slowly backed away from Rei's looming presence, dragging along the black bed sheet underneath him as he moved. He only managed to move a mere few inches before his head hit the headboard.

He was trapped.

There was no turning back now. After all, he was the one who started the game in the first place.

"W-we can talk this through, Rei-chan… We ca- Ahhh!" Nagisa's scream was followed by cheerful laughter -much louder and less reserved than Rei's- as soon as Rei's fingers started attacking his waist. Considering the strident noises they were making, Rei was initially quite surprised that his parents had not knocked on his door to ask them to keep it low. But then, he recalled that his parents had left that evening to visit his older brother in the city.

This meant that they were  _alone_  with the whole house to themselves.

Nagisa and him.

The mere thought of it drove Rei's composed mind wild with all the possibilities the situation held.

The tickles intensified, with Rei's large hands roaming freely all over Nagisa's trashing body, even reaching up to leave soft feathery touches on the sensitive skin just behind Nagisa's reddening ears.

"Ahaha- st-stop it Rei-chan! N-Not there!"

Nagisa squirmed and thrashed around, throwing his head back in reflex, his contagious laughter never ceasing. In the heat of the moment, he accidentally let out a moan; a sexy sound that shot straight to Rei's heart and unfortunately, the area between his legs.

Rei halted.

Ryugazaki Rei was usually extremely proud of his seemingly resolute self-restraint, but like other regular humans, he had his weakness, his kryptonite. Right now, feeling the inexplicable warmth enveloping his person and the way his heart leaped to his throat, Rei's dead sure his weakness was Nagisa.

Nagisa's cackles began to die down when he noticed that Rei had stopped the tickles, opting to stare with glazed half-lidded eyes. Their faces were close; close enough for Nagisa to notice the love, the adoration, the  _desire_ embedded in those amethyst orbs.

At the moment, Rei was Nagisa's center of gravity, much like Nagisa was Rei's. Both of them were drawn towards each other, both unconsciously leaning forward, closer… and closer…

Until their lips touched.

Sparks ignited when they shared their second kiss, and they stayed that way, both savouring the moment, wanting to permanently burn the sensation into their minds. It was merely a sweet, innocent peck on the lips –or rather, on the corner of their lips, because Rei had actually miscalculated and barely missed it- but Rei swore he could hear freaking  _fireworks_ exploding in his head. Rei pulled away first, probably out of hesitation or fear of what was to come had the kiss continued, but Nagisa wouldn't have any of that.

And so he placed his hands on Rei's head, pulling him closer and smashing their lips together in an almost violent manner.

Nagisa actions thus far –the sleepover, the tickling, the seductive smiles- were all done under the perverse intention of making it to the first base (French kissing) at the very least. Nagisa could already guess that Rei had lesser experience in a relationship, and the fact that Rei seemed awkward with this made him kind of happy.

Gently, Nagisa ran his tongue along Rei's moist bottom lip, coaxing it to open and allow entrance. When Rei did not respond accordingly, Nagisa nibbled lightly, making Rei gasp, undoubtedly surprised by the bold feat. Like a hawk swooping down to grab its prey, Nagisa wasted no time in exploring Rei's mouth, his hands now buried in silky cobalt locks and clutching onto them for dear life.

If Rei were to describe how the deep kiss felt, he would run out of adjectives and be forced to make up his own new words. It was certainly mind-blowing and oddly arousing; a feeling so foreign to him. Nagisa's tongue was unbelievably skilled in dancing around his own, and although French kissing was a completely new subject to him (he didn't have the time to read or do some research on it yet, and was probably too ashamed to do so), playing along felt so natural.

The kiss intensified when Nagisa started sucking on Rei's tongue, the obscene slurping and sounds of lips smacking filling the room. To be honest, it wasn't in Nagisa's agenda to let things progress at such a rapid rate. He had thought of taking it slow, really, but being around Rei-chan just made his heart beat like mad, butterflies churn in his stomach and his love struck mind float on cloud nine. Besides, Rei-chan was reacting positively to his advances, so what's there to lose?

Nagisa let out a cute little whimper when Rei's hand slipped under his pajama shirt; the area where skin met skin feverish and the sensations electrifying. Rei didn't know where the greed came from, but suddenly, he wanted to hear more of those small noises Nagisa was making; craved to see more of the lusty expressions, just… he wanted to  _feel_ more. He followed his instincts and desire –something he never knew he was capable of until Nagisa came into the picture- and let his hands and lips greet Nagisa's soft skin.

Nagisa was beautiful,  _oh so beautiful_  and perfect and Rei felt his sanity slowly slipping away with each gasp and moan, each movement and contortion of Nagisa's face that clearly spelled bliss and pleasure.

It was only when Nagisa pressed his small palm against the bulge in his pants did Rei finally snapped out of his desire driven state. The touch had sent him jolting up most ungracefully, hands stopping their quest on uncharted territories (in other words, Nagisa's nipples).

' _What am I doing? I'm not even ready for this!'_

"I-I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Stuttering a panicked apology, Rei retracted his hands from Nagisa's chest like he had just touched a scalding hot item, quickly removing himself from Nagisa's embrace and fumbling to make his way off the bed. Without his fallen glasses, even such a simple task turned troublesome.

"Why are you stopping, Rei-chan? You don't want this?" Nagisa asked, staring at Rei's retreating form with half-lidded lustful eyes that were now filled with confusion, bewilderment and a hint of hurt.  _'Does Rei-chan prefer girls? Does he think I'm disgusting?'_

"No!" Rei retaliated immediately, reclaiming his seat on the bed and letting his hand grasp Nagisa's smaller ones in a gesture of assurance. There was less awkwardness in their hand-holding now that they're doing it more often, and when Nagisa's sugar-coated smile returned, Rei felt a pang in his heart. He had to clear this up lest Nagisa misunderstands.

"No, that's not it.  _Of course_  I do, but…" Rei trailed off, unable to utter the real reason behind his reluctance.

"Let me guess, insufficient research?" Nagisa said, cheeky grin suggesting that he's joking. Surely it couldn't be such a trivial thing, right?

Rei bit his lip in embarrassment, the spreading blush reaching the tip of his ears giving the answer away. Bull's eye.

"Rei-chan, seriously?!" Nagisa exclaimed loudly, amusement clear in his tone. "You planned to  _read_  up on sex?" He shook his head in disbelief, giggles threatening to spill from his tightly pursed lips. He tried hard not to laugh, but lost the battle in mere seconds.

"Don't make fun of me, Nagisa-kun! It's just that…" Taking in a deep breath, Rei continued, hands tightening their grip on Nagisa's. "Look, I want our first time to be perfect, okay? No complications, no mistakes, just impeccable, immaculate and passionate copulation that ultimately results in pleasure and heightened levels of endorphin, and then... "

Rei's imagery of a perfect first time went on and on, and at least half of the technical jargon coming from Rei's mouth sounded like a Chemistry teacher's babble to him –incomprehensible, complex and  _boring_ \- but Nagisa had to admit that intelligence was part of Rei's appeal.

Still, using 'copulation' to refer to sex might be going a little overboard.

"Oh, stop being so idealistic, Rei-chan, relax a little!" Nagisa chimed, pinching Rei's cheeks endearingly before leaning forward to rest his forehead on Rei's. The gesture worked wonders as Rei began to unwind under his touch. "It's not like I have more experience in this than you do. We're still learning, it'll get better with practice. Let's follow the flow, hm?"

For once, the things Nagisa was spouting actually made sense. Rei sighed deeply, closing his eyes to focus on the warmth seeping from his forehead and the gentle, loving way Nagisa was stroking his hair. "I just don't want you to be in pain, Nagisa-kun…"

"Awww, that's so sweet of you…" Nagisa beamed, kissing the tip of Rei's nose affectionately. However, the joy was short-lived when he replayed the sentence in his head, only to wound up feeling confused. "Wait... Pain? But Rei-chan, aren't you the one who will feel the pain?"

This time, it was the genius' turn to be puzzled. "Why me?"

"You know, I'll be entering you and stuff, so naturally Rei-chan is the one who'll feel it, right?"

Had Rei been drinking water at that moment, he would have spit it out, sending disgusting sprays of water onto Nagisa's face in a state of shock. Nagisa's lucky this time, because Rei's only responses were a choking sound and horrific widening of violet eyes.

"B-b-but I thought I will be penetrat—I mean,  _entering_  you!" Rei retorted, hands grabbing Nagisa's shoulders like he's struggling to find something,  _anything,_  that could anchor him to this world.

"Silly Rei-chan, you're the more beautiful one, so you're the bottom!"

"No, Nagisa-kun, you are definitely cuter and significantly shorter than me, so you'll be on the receiving end!"

The bickering went back and forth (as did the subconsciously uttered compliments that went unheeded) with neither wanting to back down and succumb to submission. It never occurred to Rei that Nagisa –petite, ridiculously adorable, innocent little Nagisa- would ever conjure the thoughts of  _dominating_   ** _him_** , who was at least a good 5 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, and when his mind started playing games with him by flashing images of a sexy smirking Nagisa straddling him suggestively, Rei for once hated his own blessed brain.

Was Nagisa ever innocent, anyway?

"Rei-chan," Nagisa suddenly interrupted their bantering session, effectively silencing Rei as well. "We'll settle this later… Right now," There was a pause, and then a mischievous smile; an added dramatic effect that send Rei's poor heart spiraling down a staircase of suspense, "we can just do  _this_."

Rei gasped brightly, breath hitching in his throat, heartbeat increasing tenfold and having all the various bodily responses appropriate for when someone re-enters a state of arousal (mixed with fear and uncertainty) when he felt a sneaky hand slipping underneath his pajama pants' waistband and into his briefs.

And then he felt a squeeze.

"Nagisa-kun, please tell me you did not just do what I think you're doing."

"Hm?" An innocent smile appeared, followed by a long slow stroke and another squeeze that had Rei stifling a moan. "Do what, Rei-chan?"

" _You did not just grab my hard-on."_  was what Rei had planned on saying, but he knew fairly well that Nagisa was doing  _just that_ , maybe even more because right then Nagisa's sinful fingers started making its way down, down, down to the base and fuck, that felt good. Incredible, even.

"Ahh, Rei-chan… Yours is so wet already!" The way Nagisa said it was downright disturbing, like he's talking about lollipops or strawberry ice-cream and not Rei's manhood, with his eyes dazzling and twinkling and his luscious lips curving up into a smug and satisfied smirk, much like a child getting his favourite popsicle.

In this context, the popsicle that Nagisa's getting and holding onto was… well, it was Rei's.

' _Organic taste, eh?'_

The thoughts echoed like a nightmare in Rei's mind; the embarrassment was enough to make him want to crawl under the bed and disappear. Just when he thought things couldn't be worse than having his classmate grabbing his dick like it's the most normal thing in the world, Nagisa yelled "Oh, it's twitching in my hand!"

"Stop that! Don't say it like it's nothing!" Rei croaked out, burying his feverish face in his hands to hide his mortification.

"It's fine~ Hey... Let your voice out, Rei-chan…"

Rei was about to protest again when he noticed Nagisa's heavy breathing and the occasional gasps that escaped his mouth. Entranced by the golden-haired boy's spell (Rei's 88% sure that Nagisa possess some sort of magic by now), Rei's lilac eyes travelled south; past the enticing strip of skin partly hidden by the halfway unbuttoned pajama, lower, and lower, until his vision saw clearly what was happening down under.

' _Is this reality? Or is this yet another one of my despicable dreams?'_

What Rei saw had him questioning his life choices: Nagisa had his hands preoccupied, his left grasping Rei's erection, and his right jerking off his own. His movements were far from smooth and languid; the strokes were rough, erratic and almost desperate, but for some reason, Rei couldn't look away.

A curious thumb swept over the slit of his length and Rei let out a shaky breath, his eyes closing in reflex of losing himself in the throes of pleasure. Driven by his desire alone -rationality and morals long forgotten-, Rei reached out to curl his hand around Nagisa's weeping erection, stroking it in tandem with Nagisa's hand, feeling the searing heat radiating and the rapid pulse on it. It should've been revolting; to touch another guy's arousal when he was never a batter for the other team to begin with, but somehow, like every other thing related to Nagisa, it was strangely  _enchanting._

"Nagisa-kun," Rei breathed out, voice husky and rasped, trying to get Nagisa's attention. But Nagisa seemed too lost and dazed to notice, so he grabbed the boy's hand to still him. His body screamed angrily at him, trashing and begging for the addicting friction to return, but Rei didn't want to just watch. He wanted to participate, to explore this intimate side of their relationship actively instead of just watching Nagisa doing all the work only because he was too much of a dumbfounded nerve wreck to know what to do.

He looked straight into Nagisa's eyes, deep creases between his tightly knitted brows, and asked.

"May I?"

Nagisa was confused at first, but then he looked down and saw Rei shifting closer, trembling hand still curling around his erection that was by now close enough to bump into Rei's own with the slightest of motion.

Nagisa didn't bother to provide a verbal reply; he let his actions speak his desires. He bucked his hips up, and their lower halves bumped against one another. Without hesitation, Nagisa grabbed Rei's hand, and together they started a rhythm; slow at first, gradually increasing in speed as the pressure built up. Asking for permission to let their erections touch was such a  _Ryugazaki Rei_ thing to do, and it was amusing, but Nagisa was too desperate for release to even laugh.

"Nagi—sa! Nghh…"

The little gasps and moans Rei was making were affecting him even more than their grinding and rhythmic strokes themselves, and Nagisa felt his completion edging closer and closer, the heat pooling in his groin almost unbearable. Amidst whatever that's left of his awareness, Nagisa barely noticed Rei's hips snapping forward in time with their hands moving lower to reach the bases and graze the coarse curls. He knew that Rei-chan was close too.

"Rei-chan… ahh… Together?"

Rei opened his previously tightly shut eyes to see a heavily panting Nagisa underneath him, cheeks a radiant pink and moist lips apart as if inviting him in for a kiss. He heard Nagisa's question, but his brain was too fizzed to come up with a coherent response. So he nodded lightly and leaned forward, capturing his lover's lips in a melting kiss, drinking the moans of ecstasy and pushing into their hands one last time before coming, vision blanked out with brilliant white and thoughts of Nagisa flooding his mind.

* * *

It's Rei's fourth attempt of getting up to fetch them fresh new clothes, what with the old ones strewn around somewhere below the bed, but Nagisa's undeterred  _cuddling urges_  and death grip around his waist rendered the mission simply impossible.

"We have school tomorrow." Rei tried to reason, inwardly thankful that at least he had the box of tissues on the nightstand (he would rather not sleep in the sticky state of mess they were in after the little  _rendezvous_  they shared) but still appreciate it more if they were to sleep with comfortable clothes on instead of just half naked.

"We can deal with it." Nagisa whispered softly, nuzzling his head onto Rei's collarbone and making a small satisfied sound. "Night, Rei-chan. Love you."

Before Rei could reply, Nagisa had already drifted off to sleep. Poor Rei could only silently pray that he'd wake up  _on_   _the bed, still covered in blanket_ the next morning and not on the floor, shivering to death.

"Goodnight, Nagisa-kun." Rei said, landing a kiss to the top of the messy golden hair, sinking in exhaustion.

_[It was unsaid -partly because he had said it before but mostly because Nagisa was already too far gone in his wonderland to even listen- but Rei did have a little something to add to the simple greeting._

' _Love you too.']_


	11. Insecure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boyfriend shirt is a kink Rei never knew he had.  
> Rei can't swim no matter what, and Nagisa feels like he's the one to be blamed.

Rei woke up the next day to a dead arm and horribly cramped legs. While he's thankful that his prayers were answered -since he's still on the bed-, Rei didn't exactly appreciate starting his day with Nagisa drooling profusely on his chest, legs casually thrown over his waist and hips like he's some kind of a life-sized bolster. The scene was nothing like the 'morning after' he had in mind; his impeccable picture had perished. In the perfect daydreams Rei had of the times they'd wake up in the same bed, Nagisa would be in his arms, nuzzling against Rei's neck adorably, and Rei would gently stir him awake with a soft kiss on the forehead, and another on his nose. Then they'd lovingly whisper  _"good morning"_  against each other's lips, both all smiles and smelling like sunshine and rainbows…

A harsh kick to his shin and a swat to his chin (seriously though, did Nagisa think he's a mosquito?!) brought Rei back to Earth, out of his imagination of what should've been and into the reality. Rei had to admit, reality is harsher more often than not.

The still drooling Nagisa started mumbling incomprehensibly, something along the lines of 'popcorns' and 'milkshakes', and he's showing no signs of rousing. So Rei used his only still functioning hand to vigorously shake Nagisa's shoulder, knowing from experience that light and gentle movements won't affect the heavy sleeper in the least.

"Nagisa-kun, wake up," Rei said, ruffling the golden hair and reveling in its soft, fluffy texture under his hand. "We might be running late for school."

It was merely said as a threat, a reminder that it's a weekday unlike the other instances in which Nagisa had come over, but it was then that Rei glanced at the clock on the nightstand and froze.

They're late. For real.

"NAGISA-KUN! WE'RE REALLY LATE FOR SCHOOL!" Rei yelled loudly, hurriedly leaping out of the bed and taking Nagisa with him.  _'I completely forgot that Mom's not around today! Damn it!'_ Rei berated himself in his head as he bolted for the bathroom, towing along a half-asleep Nagisa who was just beginning to regain consciousness. As soon as Nagisa finally came to his senses, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned without bothering to close his mouth, watching Rei fumbling about and panicking in front of the wide mirror.

"Ahh... Morning, Rei-chan... Why are you in a hurry?" Nagisa asked, reaching out to intertwine his hand with Rei's. The blue-haired boy paid no heed to the gesture as he was busy applying toothpaste on a yellow toothbrush (Nagisa's spare one left for sleepover purposes), and when Nagisa opened his cute little mouth once again to release another hideous, inappropriate long yawn, the toothbrush was promptly shoved into it.

"Nagisa-kun, we have approximately 30 minutes left before class starts," Rei explained, causing bright pink eyes to widen in shock and mortification. "Yes, that's right, it's impossible to make it in time unless we leave  _now_. So get moving!"

Without needing to be told twice, Nagisa began brushing his teeth at full speed, understanding the seriousness of the matter. Rei-chan was  _never_  late for school. Time ranked high in his priorities, and he took great pride in maintaining his reputation as an exemplary well behaved student. Once he's late, the mistake will forever be etched as a charred mark in his otherwise pristine records, and no matter how trivial it might seem to be, Nagisa knew Rei-chan would be disturbed and disheartened if that were to happen.

And that small insecure voice in Nagisa's head was telling him that it's partly his fault.

' _But I can't help it, right? Rei-chan was so sexy last night!'_

Just as Nagisa finished washing his face (no shower, that's just pushing their luck), he walked out to search for his spare uniform in his bag. A few minutes passed, and Rei's already haphazardly putting his pants on and wearing his belt when Nagisa looked up at him with a horrified expression.

"Rei-chan..."

"We don't have time, hurry and wear your clothes already!"

"Well, you see... That's the problem," Nagisa smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head nervously, feeling intimidated by Rei-chan's scowl. "I don't have them."

"You what?"

"My clothes... I forgot to bring the spares."

Dumbfounded, Rei paused in the middle of buckling his belt to stare at the golden-haired troublemaker in front of him in disbelief. It took him all of his sheer willpower to not scream profanities -not that he knew many to begin with- and Rei thought to himself  _'What wrong did I ever do to deserve this?'_

He ignored Nagisa's cutesy pleads and apologies, only robotically taking a shirt from his closet and handing it to Nagisa without a word, to which the boy receives with a glomp and a wailing 'thank you'. Checking the time, he noticed it's a sad fifteen minutes away from the time when the school bell rings.

Could the day get any worse?

Apparently yes, it could.

The white summer uniform Nagisa's wearing was pathetically baggy and loose in all the wrong places, and magically, the already petite boy looked even smaller than he already was. It was incredulous; Rei knew that he was bigger than Nagisa, but he would never have guessed that Nagisa could practically  _swim_  in his clothes. It's an endearing sight, but the drawback was that not only did it make Rei redden to the tips of his ears upon seeing how cute Nagisa looked; it attracted other people's attention too. Boyfriend shirt was something he had heard his male classmates mention and harp on, but he never bothered to actually look the term up. Now that the real thing's presented right in front of him, Rei could finally understand the strange appeal.

Rei decided that he'd make Nagisa wear his shirts much more often in the future, but of course, it's only for  _him_  to see.

Unlike Makoto and Haruka, they both lived further from school, so there's no other viable method of transportation besides the train. Because they boarded the train way later than usual, they're stuck in the mass of office workers in the morning rush hour, and it's common knowledge that within such a large crowd, there's bound to be despicable people who'd take advantage of others. In normal occasions, two male high schoolers won't be preferred targets, but Nagisa's current fetish-fueling clothing state, coupled with his already soft feminine features made him stand out like a sore thumb.

A painfully easy target.

Just then, one of the standing passengers tripped on his legs and grabbed onto Nagisa's arm to stabilize himself. At first Rei thought nothing about it; after all, it's common reflex. But when the middle-aged man glanced at Nagisa and his overly large shirt with a sly perverted grin on his condescending face, Rei grimaced in disgust.

_'That nauseating smile... If only I can smash his damn face now!'_

"Nagisa-kun," Rei whispered, one hand holding onto the train's handle and the other encircling his lover's waist (the word 'lover' still embarrassed Rei to no end) in a protective embrace. "Stay close to me."

"It's too packed in this coach, Rei-chan!" Nagisa whined. "We should've just waited for the other one!"

"Bear with it, okay? Besides, we're getting off at the next stop."

The remaining few minutes they spent on the train was torturous hell to them, especially Rei. Assaults kept coming from all the different directions, and from the way Nagisa was trembling and flinching every second, Rei knew that the boy was getting uncomfortable, so he tightened his hold on him.

When they finally got off, Rei was extremely glad, because had they stayed any longer, who knew what he might've done to those bastards who dared to lay a hand on  _his_ Nagisa.

* * *

They had missed a quarter of their first class by the time they reached school. The discipline teacher was waiting at the gates with a cane and a logbook in his hands. He looked fierce -demonic, even- but when he saw Rei and Nagisa running toward him, desperate and out of breath, his expression transformed into one that of bewilderment. In the end, they were exempted from any sort of punishment, thanks to Rei's pitifully lame but believable story of them helping an old lady who was lost in the city.

Nagisa knew that if he had been the one making the excuse, no one would've believed him, but Rei-chan was a really smooth talker, and his good reputation did help, too.

After bowing multiple times to emphasize their apology, the pair rushed to their shoe lockers to change into their indoor slippers. Since Rei's surname started with an 'R' and Nagisa's with an 'H', their lockers ended up separated by a few rows. Usually, Nagisa would straight away make a beeline to his before creeping up behind Rei to startle him, but today, something made him want to follow Rei.

Call it his lover instinct or sixth sense, but Nagisa had a feeling that there's something in Rei's locker that's not meant to be there.

"Rei-chan, stay here for a while, will ya?" Nagisa held Rei's broad shoulders firmly to stop him from progressing any further.

"Come on, now's not the time to play, Nagi—"

"Please? I want to do you a favour… As your boyfriend!" Nagisa pleaded, enjoying the blush that adorned Rei's face. "Give me your shoes. I'll bring your indoor ones for you!"

Heaving out a long, exhausted sigh, Rei stepped out of his black-and-white sneakers and handed them to Nagisa, who accepted with a blinding smile. In no time, Nagisa was already on his way to the second last row of locker where he knew exactly where the one labeled 'Ryugazaki Rei' would be. Taking in a deep breath, Nagisa flicked the metallic door almost dramatically and it opened with a clang, revealing its content.

It turned out that his instincts hit spot on.

Apart from the pair of indoor slippers, there were a few envelopes scattered inside, along with a small paper bag that has been tied neatly with a bright red ribbon. A sickeningly familiar scent of strawberries escaped from the locker's constrains, and instantly, Nagisa felt surges of sharp pain prickling his heart.

There are love letters. Not  ** _a_**  letter, but  _letter **s**. _ In Rei-chan's locker.

' _To think that these girls have the guts to even **touch** Rei-chan's stuff! Unforgivable!'_

Nagisa was rooted to the ground, unmoving. He simply couldn't move, not when the thoughts of girls surrounding Rei-chan, giggling and clinging onto him like he's some kind of a  _public property_  filled his mind.

' _Mine.'_ A voice echoed in his head.  _'Minemineminemine—'_

"Nagisa-kun? Hurry up, what're you still standing there for?" Rei's words startled Nagisa. Regaining his composure, Nagisa hastily replied with a cheery "I'm coming!" and shoved the letters and little package inside his bag. He went to his own shoe locker to change his shoes before running towards Rei and joyfully enveloping him in a warm hug.

"Here, yours!"

Rei rolled his eyes, annoyed by Nagisa's blithe nature, but he cracked an amused smile nonetheless when Nagisa hauled him off to class.

Little did he know that Hazuki Nagisa was keeping a secret.

* * *

"Rei-chan, I'm sorry..." Nagisa suddenly said when they were on their way to their club meeting, earning a baffled look from Rei.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"It's all my fault, isn't it? We're late because I did  _that_  to you and you're so tired from cumming too much and-"

"Ssshh! School is not the time for this  _lecherous_  talk!" Flustered, Rei quickly placed his index finger on Nagisa's lips to silence him before looking around to see if anyone was nearby. When he was sure they were alone, he spoke up, voice hushed and barely audible, almost as if he's telling a secret. "And no... It's not really your fault. Well, not entirely, because halfway through I got too excited and... Yeah. Basically I'm saying that I don't regret doing… you know,  _that_ , with you."

It's amazing how Nagisa could lose his guilt in a split second, because right after Rei admitted that he was enjoying last night, too, Nagisa beamed up at him with a full-teethed smile that screamed joy and mischief.

How many types of smile did Nagisa have, anyway?

"Hey Rei-chaaaan," The chatterbox pulled Rei's collar so that he could whisper into his ears. "Next time we should do it on a weekend."

"N-n-next time?!" Rei spluttered and stared wide-eyed at the grinning boy.

"Yup, next time! On weekends we can have sex as much as we want," In a sing-song tune, Nagisa's casually uttered words once again convinced Rei of his derived theory that no, Nagisa was  _never_ innocent.

Recalling the little dispute they shared last night, Rei was aware that his chastity might be at stake.

They arrived at the pool moments later, and as carefree as a child, Nagisa skipped gleefully to where Makoto and Haruka stood next to the glistening pool, traces of his earlier lusty expression vanishing into thin air. "Mako-chan, Haru-chan! We're here~"

"Ahh, Nagisa! Rei! Good timing, we're just getting started," Makoto said, smiling ever so gently. "You guys can go ahead and change, 'kay? Haru and I are going to get the stopwatch."

"Don't get into the pool yet," Haruka warned, monotonous and threatening at the same time. " _I_ should be the one entering the water  _first."_

Haruka-senpai was acting like a jealous lover, and though Rei craved to point out that water is an inanimate object that's certainly incapable of feelings, let alone desires, the menacing glare Haruka-senpai gave was more than enough to shut him up. And from the way water seemed to always side with Haruka-senpai and flow in flawless synchronization with his every move, it might be possible that there's an inexplicable bond between them...

Images of Haruka-senpai's elegant, graceful swimming slowly flooded Rei's thoughts, and he wondered if he could ever be as beautiful as the freestyle swimmer when (or if) he could finally swim.

Suddenly, Rei remembered something and stiffened.

"Right! Let's get going, then!" Nagisa chirped, pulling on Rei's arm. The blue-haired boy didn't budge.

"Rei-chaaaaan?"

"...ming trunks..." Rei muttered under his breath, his shaky hand moving up to adjust his slipping glasses, a gloomy aura of despair clouding him.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Swimming trunks! It totally slipped from my mind that I don't actually have one!" The dramatic gestures and petrified expression Rei-chan was making coaxed giggles out of Nagisa. Silly Rei-chan, getting all jumpy and anxious over a small thing!

"Don't worry, Rei-chan! I've got your back on this one!"

Instead of feeling assured and relieved, a new sense of fear crept into Rei's mind, because having Hazuki Nagisa as your savior and only hope was never something to look forward to. Not if you value your life and dignity.

And that smile. Rei knew that smile too well.

 _'Lord, please watch over me.'_ He prayed as he was dragged to the changing room by an overly excited Nagisa.

* * *

A few minutes later, Makoto and Haruka returned to see a fuming Rei animatedly blabbering about principles of beauty to a widely grinning Nagisa, and needless to say, they were confused by the scene.

" _Why..._ " Rei murmured through clenched teeth, eyes trained on the only piece of clothing he was wearing. "Why must I suffer through this humiliation?! This is absurd! Such contrasting colours and ridiculous design will bring people's attention to my... My crotch!" His pale face turned a few shades of darker crimson at his own choice of words. "And  _this_!" Makoto could've sworn he heard a 'bam!' sound effect when the bespectacled boy turned around to point at the little penguin logo situated at the 'strategic place' right between his bums.  _"_ What is up with you and penguins?!" Rei exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Calm down, Rei-chan... It's not that bad! Actually, you look beautiful in it! Stunning, fantastic!" Nagisa sniggered, knowing that Rei always fell for the beauty card. Of course, there's a reason behind the penguins. Nagisa actually regarded penguins as his inner spirit animal. With the penguin embellishing the speedo Rei-chan was wearing, he's indirectly branding Rei-chan as his. ' _Brilliant, isn't it?!'_

Makoto sympathized with Rei for having to put up with Nagisa's unpredictable antics every day. Still, as the captain, he had to intervene and restore peace.

"I kinda agree with Nagisa. Besides, it's just temporary. What do you think, Haru?"

"As long as it fits the best, it's good." Haruka honestly replied. It's quite true; aesthetics should come second, comfort is the most important aspect.

Seeing Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai nodding in approval at his outfit, Rei felt a tad bit assured that he didn't actually look that out of place. He was not sure about Haruka-senpai, but at least Makoto-senpai seemed to be quite fashionable. "Now, shall we?" Makoto offered to start the practice, and in no time, Haruka was already popping the water's cherry.

"Haru! We're supposed to time ourselves!" With a what-should-I-do-with-you sigh, Makoto shook his head in defeat as they watched Haru effortlessly disappear under the gleaming surface.

"Rei, do you want me to teach you how to swim? I'm most familiar with backstroke, so maybe we can start with that?"

It's really nice of Makoto-senpai to offer a hand, Rei mused, but he had something else in mind.

"Actually, I've read that freestyle crawl is the easiest to master, so I was thinking-"

"I'll take responsibility!" Out of the blue, Nagisa confidently made the statement with poise and rigidity of a man asking the parents for a girl's hand for marriage. "I'm the one who brought you into the club, so I should teach you," He finished triumphantly, leaving Rei astounded.

"But you're good in breaststro-"

"You can count on me, Rei-chan! Let's go!"

 _'There's just no use denying this little guy of what he wants, is there?'_ Rei sighed, but something in Nagisa's ringing laughter and dazzling eyes make him smile fondly and allow himself to be pulled into the pool.

* * *

"Wow, you float like a pro, Rei-chan! That's right... You're doing well..." Nagisa's endless strings of encouragements gave a newfound strength to Rei. Makoto was watching from the side, occasionally praising and giving comments about Rei's perfect form. Well, of course it'd be perfect, he had spent a few days pouring over the theories after all.

"Yeah, just like that, push your arms forward," As he continued to kick and make the strokes, slowly, Rei felt Nagisa's grip on his hands loosen before the boy finally yelled "Perfect! I'm letting go~"

For the first few milliseconds, Rei felt like he was weightless; suspended freely, only supported by the lukewarm bed of water underneath him. He kicked, dipped his head and pushed his chest upward, arms extending backwards to mimic the way Nagisa's moved. Once, twice, thrice... By the fourth time, Rei sensed the eerily familiar burden of water pushing against his body, gravity pulling him downwards and rendering his swimming efforts completely futile.

Ryugazaki Rei sank to the bottom of the pool, the proud smile wiped off his face.

* * *

After countless failed attempts of swimming forward  _without_ sinking within five seconds, Makoto finally told them to take a break, much to Rei's dismay.

"Perhaps we can... Try tomorrow?" Makoto suggested, genuinely concerned when he saw how desperate Rei looked.

"But we have so little time left till the tournament…"

"Maybe we can get Haru to teach you. Though I doubt he'd be willing to..." Giving a friendly pat on Rei's back, Makoto motioned him to move to the side. "Well, today you can rest. Nagisa, it's your turn to make a lap."

Nagisa reluctantly released Rei's hand –which he had been secretly holding underwater- to follow Makoto to the platforms. He mouthed a silent 'Sorry!' to Rei, and the boy replied with a weak nod and a smile that didn't reach his darkened violet eyes. The rest of the evening was spent mostly with Makoto noting their times and drafting their training schedule, but Nagisa was not at ease at all.

The way Rei-chan sat by the pool, lost in thoughts and shoulders slumped dejectedly caused his heart to clench so violently that it threatened to fall off. Rei-chan looked so down and confused, and all Nagisa wanted to do at the moment was to hug him tightly and never let go.

' _Taking responsibility is easier said than done, isn't it?'_

* * *

"Rei-chan, is it because of me? Am I not good enough?" They were on their way back, barely a few meters away from where they always split, and for the second time in a day, Nagisa said something perplexing again. "I don't swim like Haru-chan, I'm not beautiful."

"Why are you saying these?"

"It's because I'm scared!" Nagisa cried out, one hand curling into a quivering fist by his side, the other gripping onto his bag like his sanity relied on it. "I'm scared that I'm being a bother, that I'm just weighing you down!"

' _I'm scared I would lose you.'_

Rei was shocked to hear such heavy words coming from Nagisa. It never crossed his mind that this perpetually jovial bundle of energy would ever feel so… vulnerable. Nagisa wasn't looking at him now, and Rei's afraid,  _so afraid_ that the boy would start crying again, because he knew his heart won't be able to handle watching Nagisa's tears.

"Listen Nagisa-kun, I've never fallen in love before. Maybe a crush or two, but nothing serious. And I still don't know how relationships work," Bit by bit, Rei held his hand out and took Nagisa's smaller one in his, enjoying just how right it felt. His face was getting warmer, and his hands itched to play with his glasses (a bad habit of his when handling stress). "B-but you said y-you'd take responsibility! So don't go acting all insecure on me, okay?"

Nagisa looked up at him with the most adorable expression yet, his glazed magenta orbs flooded with thousand of emotions, love being the strongest one portrayed. For an instance, Rei wondered what kind of face Nagisa made when he proposes to him in the future.

' _Wait, it's still too soon for that!'_ Rei fought to get the mental image of them exchanging the vows out of his head.

Nagisa was at a loss for words.  _'Rei-chan doesn't think I'm a burden,_ ' He thought to himself, and felt his eyes water. Rei chuckled at the sight of Nagisa trying to act tough and failing, and even though they were in the middle of the road –open and unguarded-, he couldn't resist bending down to press a small kiss on Nagisa's lips.

"See you tomorrow," Rei said, letting go of Nagisa's hand at the junction that separated their houses.

"See you!" Nagisa replied enthusiastically, waving until Rei disappeared from his view. He walked back, ignoring his older sisters' petty quarrels in the living room and ran up the stairs to his room, where he carefully took out the various-sized envelopes and the brown packet from his bag.

One by one, he opened each letter and read the contents, sometimes stopping to snicker at the words of adoration the girls had used to describe Rei-chan, occasionally popping a chocolate biscuit from the paper bag into his mouth and cringing at its taste. Admittedly, he kind of regretted suggesting the modeling job in the first place, because it was that magazine that triggered this sudden onslaught of fans.

' _Chocolate biscuits? Really? They think they can win Rei-chan over with **these**?'  _ Nagisa rolled over on his bed, burying his face in Rei's shirt and inhaling the faint scent that lingered.  _'Too bad. I'm not going to let anybody take Rei-chan away from me._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, you might think that I've abandoned the previous mysteries/conflicts (the magazines, writings on the table, etc) but I assure you that I haven't! The plot may seem haywire because I'm not used to writing multi-chapters... But I've figured things out. Hope you'll bear with me! ;)


	12. Swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident during PE leaves Nagisa fuming. Haruka gives some abstract Water philosophies and welcomes Rei to the club of 'The Chosen Ones'.

Nagisa always had the knack of asking weird things at the most inappropriate time possible; Rei of all people was especially accustomed to this. But when he asked out of the blue "Ne, Rei-chan, what do you think of the girls in our class?" while they were both in the gym's changing room getting ready for Physical Education, Rei was still taken aback by the strangeness of it all.

Rei popped his head out from his pristine white T-shirt collar to peer at Nagisa, who was struggling with getting his hands in the right sleeves. Most of his other classmates had slowly shuffled out from the room, not wanting to be the victim of Moriyama-sensei, their strict, dictator-like PE instructor whose idea of punishment was a 15 laps around the baseball diamond, a few hundred push-ups and 5 minutes of planking without breaks in between. Rei sighed and adjusted his clothing before walking over to Nagisa to help. Honestly, could a day ever go by with Nagisa not messing up anything at all? Sure, that was one of the things that made the boy all the more endearing and interesting to watch, but sometimes Rei couldn't help worrying that his klutzy nature would place him in danger.

"Why are you asking this?" Rei questioned while gently grabbing Nagisa's flailing hands to properly insert them into the designated holes. For one, he's thankful that Nagisa had changed into his gym shorts, else he'd be forced to offer assistance with that too. That wouldn't end well for Rei, if the furious blush spreading across his face was any indication.

"Nothing…" Nagisa answered, smoothing the front of his T-shirt before standing on the tips of his toes, leaning in to whisper softly. "It's just that, I think some of them like you."

"L-like me?!" Rei exclaimed loudly. Realizing that his sudden outburst had attracted a few pairs of curious eyes, he clamped a hand over his mouth and resorted to whispering. "In  _what_  sense?"

"You know, the romantic kind of like! The one that involves kissing, hugging, se—"

"I get it, I get it!" Rei moved his hand to close over Nagisa's mouth to stop the 's' word from escaping; who knew what would happen if their classmates were to overhear their conversation. "Still, I cannot possibly understand why anyone would take a liking to me," Rei's voice dropped when he saw the sparkly eyes Nagisa was giving him, and he scoffed, turning away to hide the embarrassment at what he was going to say. "Other than you, of course. You are abnormal, an outlier and therefore, an exception."

Nagisa crossed his arms and faced the opposite side as well, as if mimicking Rei's posture, except that his was far more dramatic with the audible huff, puffed out cheeks and pointing of chin.

"You're wrong, Rei-chan. I don't like you!"

Rei whipped his head around to look at the blonde, expression morphing into that of a kicked puppy (but to be honest, he ended up looking more like a scandalized big dog who was just dumped by its owner). "You don't?" Rei asked, afraid to hear the answer.  _'What if he has found someone new?'_ His mind wandered to the thoughts of Nagisa going out with another girl, and instantaneously the image of Hikaru clinging onto Nagisa's arm popped up in his head. What made his heart lurch and stomach drop was that the idea wasn't the slightest bit absurd; after all, Nagisa  _had_ dated some girls before. Rei gulped and waited for an answer.

"Nope, because…" Nagisa left the words hanging in the tense air for a few seconds before rapidly spinning around to fling his arms around Rei's neck. "…I  _loooovee_ you!" He continued in a sing-song voice –his trademark tune whenever he's happy about something. Rei didn't budge at first, standing rooted to the ground with his face covered by his hand, shakily adjusting his glasses again. Nagisa was, for a brief moment, honestly concerned that the bespectacled boy was angry at him for the loud and blatant proclamation of love in bright daylight, or that he'd taken the joke too far. However, he caught the sight of the blazing blush at the tips of Rei's ears and heard Rei muttering things like '… _immensely embarrassing'_ and  _'..giving me mini heart attacks…'_ , instantly realizing that the poor kid was just ashamed.

This was one of the reasons why teasing and poking fun at Ryuugazaki Rei never gets old: his reactions are always too precious to let up!

"So? What do you think?" Nagisa asked again, putting on his running shoes and jogging on the spot a little. Whistling sounds echoed from the field, signaling they didn't have much time left. He  _had_ to know Rei's opinion on this, fast.

"Well, obviously I would be flattered to know that girls find me attractive…" came Rei's reply. He paused in hesitance, sneaking a glance at Nagisa in a shy peek. "B-but I already have you, so..."

He wasn't given room to complete his sentence as a jubilant ball of excitement immediately jumped on him, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Awwww, Rei-chan you're too sweet!"

Just then, a few of their female classmates passed by, giggling to themselves at an inside joke which Rei had no interest knowing. Different high school have specific unique PE uniform designs, and naturally they differ for boys and girls. In summer, Iwatobi's included a loose white T-shirt and dark blue shorts with green stripes running down the side, and while girls are no longer required to wear those ridiculous panty-like things in favour of less skimpy outfit, their shorts are undoubtedly much,  _much_ tighter and form-hugging than those of boys. When Nagisa ran ahead towards the door with little joyful skips to his steps, Rei found himself staring at the blonde boy's back, and images of Nagisa in tight booty shorts began flashing through his mind… Nagisa swaying side to side in slow motion with a shy look on his adorable baby-face…

"Rei-chan, let's see who reaches the field first! Loser pays for lunch!" Nagisa turned to stick out his tongue and take a head start, disappearing down the hallway. Snapped out of his daydream, Rei groaned in frustration. First he had 'Nagisa in boyfriend shirt' fantasies, now 'Nagisa in girls' PE uniform'? What fetish is next in store for him?

' _Am I turning into a pervert?!'_ Rei pondered as he trailed after a startlingly fast Nagisa.

* * *

PE had always been among Rei's favourite subjects; Iwatobi's curriculum was especially entertaining and enjoyable as they incorporated various disciplines and athletics, including rhythmic gymnastics, tennis, basketball and the obligatory track and field. It was one of the few moments that allowed Rei to put his knowledge to practice and exhibit his skills in the sports he considered beautiful.

Today's programmes were coincidentally pole-vaulting and high jumping –both his particular favourites. Hardly anyone in the class was any better than the all-rounder Rei at these games, and even Moriyama-sensei was aware of this as he insisted on allowing the other students go first. Letting Rei lead would've been disastrous because all the other students in line would only end up gawking in awe, astonished by the skills and accuracy of Rei's technique, perfected by his ongoing mental calculations and blessed physique. That wouldn't be too good for the spirit of the class; some might become disheartened or even give up before trying. It happened before, and it sure could happen once more if the talented prodigy proved to be flawless yet again.

Of course, if there's anyone who would be most affected by the attention Rei's newfound admirers was showering on him, it'd be Nagisa.

Nagisa sighed dreamily from the side as he watched Rei take his turn on pole-vaulting. The queue had finally reached the end after numerous attempts from everyone present. The majority of them passed at least the 2.5 to 3 meters mark (those who couldn't clear the starting height were entitled to ' _the punishment'_ , poor lads), a handful even getting further till 4-something, but when the bar was raised to 5 meters, everyone failed miserably, leaving only Rei to continue the challenge.

There was something enchanting and mysteriously hypnotic about the way Rei moved when he's engrossed in doing things he was passionate about. The firm grip his hands had on the pole, the long, precise strides he took in the approach, the way his mouth rattled off complex calculations to himself –things like 'maximizing transformation of cumulated potential energy' and 'perfect velocity, take-off and double pendulum motion' which no student was serious enough to take into account-, _everything_ , was simply breathtaking. Nagisa knew the techniques, they were taught the basics and principles in theory classes after all, but he was convinced that no one could pull it off while looking  _that_  elegant.

"Brilliant, Ryugazaki!" Moriyama-sensei exclaimed as Rei cleared yet another height, close to breaking the school's record now. "Let's see how far you can get this time," the middle-aged PE teacher said before instructing the assisting students to raise the bar's standards by a few inches. Nagisa could already  _hear_ the singing praises of fellow admiring classmates, along with the scornful disses from those harbouring jealousy. He was immediately reminded of the love letters he'd snatched from Rei's locker yesterday, the appalling declarations of love and admiration from bratty girls who thought they stood a chance against him and the chocolate cookies that still left an icky taste on his tongue. One of the letters was indeed from Yui, whose previous attempt at wooing Rei with her pathetic strawberry-scented card ended in ashes. Whether she's just desperate to get back at Nagisa for burning her letter or was truly still interested in making Rei her boyfriend, that would remain unknown, but one thing was for sure: Yui was clearly not over it.

 _'I'll have to change that.'_  Oh yes, he'll keep the bastards away from his beloved Rei-chan  _and_ have fun while doing it.

The class was almost over and a lot of them were already helping to tidy the field, carrying the equipment to the storage room. However, Moriyama-sensei was adamant in making Rei take the final jump. It was obvious that he had his eyes on scouting Rei as part of the school's pole-vaulting team, and if Rei passed this one too, it's basically his golden ticket; he'd definitely get in.

"Nagisa! Stop gaping like a stupid fish and help us out here!" One of his classmates yelled, walking along a few other boys whose hands were full with heavy-looking landing pads and steel bars, looking like they're about to topple over any time soon. Nagisa flashed an apologetic sheepish smile and replied "Hold on, I need to watch this! Just one more, okay!"

The whistle blew and Rei started his final run, instantly entrancing everyone watching. Like a star athlete model jumping to life straight from the textbook, there wasn't a single fault in his steps. Nagisa felt an impulsive surge of pride, but also unease overcoming him at the prospect of losing Rei-chan to Moriyama-sensei. It sure looked like he was going to have no problem leaping over the tall bar, and oh god what would he do without Rei-chan, ' _What if I never get to swim with him?', 'What if he leaves the swim team, then we'll be lacking a member and—'…._

But the worse happened instead.

Just as Rei was about to take off, to the horror of those witnessing the scene, the planted pole snapped in two, falling onto the ground in heaps of clattering mess. The clanking sounds were excessively loud in his ears, and within a split second, Nagisa's eyes widened as he watched Rei tumbled over, crashing down on the pit merely inches away from hitting the solid ground.

Nagisa froze, almost paralyzed by the sight of Rei clutching his hand and arm, writhing on the thick mat. The bespectacled boy was also pressing his palm to his abdomen, his eyebrows scrunched and furrowed in what looked like shocking pain.

Rei-chan was in pain.

His Rei-chan was hurt.

"REI-CHAN!" Nagisa shouted, dashing towards where his lover laid on the landing pad, struggling to sit up. The shattered pieces had struck Rei in the area around his lower stomach when it broke, and his wrists must have been hurt, too. Carefully, Nagisa placed his arm around Rei's shoulders, supporting him as he tried to get up. A few other students had come rushing to the scene as well, but Nagisa wouldn't let anyone touch the still flinching Rei. After the near-drowning incident, he had developed a phobia of losing Rei. Feeling anger bubbling inside him at the mere thought of someone's negligence causing harm to his Rei-chan, he quickly went to the teacher, lashing out and demanding answers.

"Sensei, why the hell was the pole not checked before being used?!"

Moriyama-sensei looked surprised at the unexpected outburst coming from his normally cheerful, carefree student, and even more at the hint of accusation in his question. And did this kid just  _cursed_  at him?

"I did check, Ryugazaki might have just exerted too much burden on the pole," he shifted his gaze, unable to meet Nagisa's blaring fiery eyes who looked like he's ready to eat anyone for lunch now. Moriyama-sensei bent down to collect the broken pieces. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the edges were frayed instead of clean-cut, indicating that the pole had been tampered with. Looks like Hazuki's suspicion might be right; someone  _had_ tried to sabotage Rei.  _'But who, and why?'_

"It's dangerous, sensei! Rei-chan could've…" Nagisa paused, almost choking on his words and the tears that were threatening to flow. His trembling hands had curled into tiny fists at his side. "He could have-!"

"Nagisa-kun…" Rei cut him off before he could break down, lightly touching Nagisa's arm to calm him down. "It's nothing, this kind of accidents happen sometimes, you know? It's not anyone's fault."

"But you were hurt, Rei-chan!"

"People  _always_ get hurt in sports, don't they?" Rei reasoned, softly grabbing Nagisa's hand and uncurling it, resting his palm against Nagisa's (their teacher looked on, noticing the gesture but said nothing). "The risk is there, no matter which sports we choose."

' _But not in swimming!'_ was what Nagisa wanted to say, but even he knew that Rei was absolutely right. Choosing the path of an athlete was akin to offering yourself up for injuries and hazards; it's just inevitable. Practice and precautions could significantly reduce the likelihood, but at times, it's really up to luck.

The truth was that, regardless of how badly Nagisa wanted to protect Rei-chan, at the end of the day, no one can predict the future.

"We'll look into this matter, don't worry. Go to the infirmary and get yourself checked, Ryugazaki," Moriyama-sensei said, patting Rei on the back in assurance. Rei bowed a little and thanked him, before turning to Nagisa to mouth the words "what were you thinking?!" Anyone who dared to curse in front of -let alone  _at_ \- the sadistic PE teacher must've been either  _one,_  an idiot,  _two_ , suicidal, or  _three,_  downright out of their freaking mind.

It occurred to Rei that perhaps Nagisa was an exquisite mixture of all three.

"I was really worried, Rei-chan! How's your wrist? What about your stomach, does it hurt anywhere?"

"No…. The pain was minor and short-lived, but I will spray some analgesics later, just in case," Rei said. It was true; snapping poles had happened in professional tournaments before, including in Olympics, and while the accident appeared frightening (not to mention the horrifying snap sound), injuries were uncommon. Taking in the sight of an almost-crying Nagisa –wobbly quivering lips, watery eyes and all- was actually far more painful, so much so that he had to pull Nagisa in for a warm hug. He looked like a mess; a heart-clenchingly adorable little mess. "Shhh, everything is alright. Why are you acting like I'm dying of an incurable disease…"

They shared a small laugh, and Rei gently thumbed under Nagisa's wet eyes to rid of the stray trail of tears, not once letting go of his hand as they walked to the infirmary.

The school's nurse, a sweet lady in her thirties whose kind smile reminded Rei of his mother, thoroughly checked his body for any signs of underlying injuries (Nagisa didn't feel any threat coming from her, so he let the nurse lay her hands on Rei's skin). When none was found, she let them both return to class, giving them both a lollipop each like a doctor usually would when dealing with kids. Rei blushed profusely, declining the gift ( _'B-but I'm not a child anymore!'_ ) so inevitably, Nagisa took his share.

When in class, Nagisa kept on going back to the earlier incident. Putting the unfortunate mishap aside -which he was  _very_  pissed off about- he's still astounded by how stunning Rei-chan looked. That was what Rei-chan loved the most, wasn't it? The feeling of being suspended in the air, having your body arch in a willowy curve as you fly above the bar... these he had once told Nagisa.  _'Rei-chan's passion was running and pole-vaulting… And I took that away from him.'_

Nagisa knew that he was the one who snatched the beauty away and promised to give it back through swimming.

Rei-chan was his responsibility. Nagisa decided right then; he's going to make sure Rei-chan becomes the most beautiful swimmer Iwatobi prefecture, Japan, and even the world, had ever seen.

But the first thing he'd have to do was to seek aid from the best swimmer  _he_ had ever known: Haru-chan.

* * *

After convincing Rei that he could use some rest and turn up at training later (it took quite a number of sneaked get-well kisses and encouraging compliments to do that since Rei was being a stubborn hardworker), Nagisa sprinted along the school's courtyard to look for his potential savior. The chances of finding Haruka within the vicinity of any closed container of water exceeding that of a 2.0L bottle was approximately 78%, as Rei had claimed. How the whiz had come up with that number was inexplicable, but Nagisa believed it anyway, even suspecting that the percentage should be higher. Unsurprisingly, he found Haruka on his way to the pool, but with no Makoto in sight.

Strange. With Makoto and Haruka, it's almost impossible to find one without the other.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa called out, waving from far with relentless enthusiasm. "You're alone? Where's Mako-chan?"

"Makoto will be late today," Haruka answered, casually placing his bag in its designated space in the dressing room, along with his bottle and shoes. "Ran called. She was panicking and screaming that Ren is down with fever. He's going back to settle things."

"Ah, poor Ren-chan… But that's good for you, right? Since Mako-chan is not here to stop you from making sweet love to water," Nagisa teased, jabbing the boy's side playfully. Haruka's reply was nothing more than a soft "hnn", so Nagisa decided not to press on the subject, understanding that the older boy was actually worried about Ren's wellbeing. They'd always been close, even way back when the twins were just tiny bundles of joyful gifts from heaven. Ren was like the little brother Haruka might've wished for, but never had.

Nagisa waited for Haruka to sort his items before slowly inching closer, sly grin indicating that he had something to ask for.

"Haru-chan… Can we talk?"

Haruka spared a glance at his teammate, noticing the cheeky look on that babyface (more like a baby  _mask_ , anyone who'd been around Nagisa for so long would know that Nagisa was nothing close to innocent). ' _This is not good. Nothing is ever good when Nagisa smiles like that.'_  Still, ignoring him was definitely a worse choice. "Depends. Is it important?"

"Very! It's very very important!"

The way items are ranked in Nagisa's 'importance scale' is different than most people. 'Important' for Nagisa might be, at times, as significant as a speck of dust on top of a forsaken trophy for others (but who was Haruka to judge anyway, when he himself prioritize water over pride and dignity). Still, Haruka knew that Nagisa could be serious when he wanted to, so he figured why not give this a chance.

"Okay," he muttered. "I'm listening."

"Great!" Nagisa cheered. "You know that the competition is coming up, right?"

Haruka nodded slightly, and a curt 'hmm' followed.

"And that Rei-chan still cannot swim…"

"I told you before. The water hates him." He was sure of it. If Water-chan could talk, he was certain that its first words would be _'get the weird glasses kid away from me!'_

"No, it doesn't. Rei-chan just needs the right guidance and technique!" Nagisa retorted, puffing his cheeks out childishly.

Oh. Now Haruka had an inkling of where the conversation was going.

"Your point is?"

"He needs you to teach him."

Haruka stared at Nagisa, his own sparkling blue depths clashing with the hopeful gaze coming from the two brilliant pink orbs. Unfortunately for the chatterbox, Haruka was almost completely immune to his puppy eyes technique; only Rei-chan and Rin-chan were easily swayed by it.

" **No.** "

"But Haru-channnn…"

"No means  _no_. It's too much trouble."

"Pleaaaaase? You're the only one who can help!" Nagisa continued pleading, nuzzling his little head against Haruka's left shoulder, rubbing incessantly like an affectionate cat begging for food.

"No. If you and Makoto can't teach him, then he just isn't cut out for swimming."

"But how are we supposed to enter relay if Rei-chan can't swim?" Nagisa whined, unaware of the little secret he'd let slip.

It didn't get past Haruka's hearing.

"Relay?" Haruka repeated, observing with great curiousity when the breaststroke swimmer's eyes went wide in realization. He took a step closer to Nagisa, now towering over the smaller boy and sending a deathly intimidating glare. "Nagisa.  _What_  relay?"

Nagisa cowered, scratching his head and looking at anywhere but the fuming dolphin-human hybrid in front of him. "Ehehehe… I  _might_ have asked Gou-chan to sign us up for relay…"

"You  ** _what_**?"

"I'm sorry, Haru-chan! Look on the bright side, Rin-chan will be in the relay too!"

At the mention of Rin's name, Haruka visibly flinched and went rigid, like he'd been struck by electricity. Nagisa had a feeling he hit a sore spot somewhere, because seconds later, the stoic boy sighed and walked away, craving more than ever to just feel the water wrapping his body in a gentle, comforting cocoon.

It was his only escapade. His sanctuary, his answers.

"That is  _not_ a bright side, Nagisa," he uttered, unzipping his jacket and easily side-stepping Nagisa's attempted glomp.

"It is! We'll race against him after so long… Don't you want to swim with Rin-chan anymore?"

Haruka didn't answer the final question. He simply couldn't. Standing next to the pool, he stared up at the clear azure sky. Nagisa's never-ending babbles were lost in the background, blending in with the other noises. The blinding sunrays warmed the water below, and in the cloudless stretch of blue, he could see a single eagle soaring with ease, its majestic wings spread out beautifully.

"I only swim free," he whispered.

* * *

"Sorry for not being around the last few days, but I have a good news," Gou announced happily when she arrived, waving a piece of paper in front of the boys huddled next to the pool. Her ruby eyes twinkled with delight, sharing an uncanny resemblance to that of Nagisa's whenever they're both excited about something. "Samezuka agreed to conduct a joined practice… tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?!" A chorus of staggered voices resounded, Rei's being the loudest of them all. "Why the short notice?" Makoto asked.

"Oh dear, is there a problem? I thought it'd be good to hold it earlier."

"Rei still can't swim," Haruka spoke, while the others just sighed in resignation.

"I see…" Gou, however, took a few moments to actually digest the piece of information, and when she finally did, her eyes went wider than they usually did when she was ogling hot living Greek statues (honestly no muscular guy was safe from her sharp vision). "Huh?! REI CANNOT SWIM?!"

Nagisa jabbed Makoto in the ribs a few times, making the latter squirm uncomfortably. "See Mako-chan? Told you she'd be shocked."

"B-but, tomorrow!" Gou continued to panic, grabbing onto Rei's shoulders and shaking him back and forth as if daring him to tell her that this was a bad dream, everything was a lie, and Ryuugazaki Rei could swim. Rei could only offer her a weak smile.

"Yes. Exactly."

* * *

In the end, Haruka did help teach Rei swim (Gou mentioned something about her older brother training hard for the upcoming competition, and suddenly Haruka was up and in the water to assist Rei), though his idea of help involved more of philosophical phrases of 'water and its many personalities', of advices on how to be one with water and such. Nagisa and Makoto watched with despair as Rei tried, and tried,  _and tried_.

"It's okay, Ryuugazaki-kun," Gou coaxed, unable to bear watching her newest team member overwork himself with no progress. "I'll just explain to Mikoshiba-kun and we can postpone-"

Suddenly, Makoto's voice cut in, effectively gaining everyone's attention.

" _Butterfly._ "

Everyone turned to look at the backstroker, whose emerald eyes had lit up in interest.

"Makoto-senpai, you said something?"

"Butterfly… Rei, have you tried butterfly?" Makoto inquired, getting jumpy on his feet.

Rei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "While I admit their beautiful colours give a tempting appearance, I doubt they taste good—"

"Not  _that_ kind of try, Rei. Swimming butterfly! It's the only style you haven't tried, right?"

"Haha! Silly Rei-chan~" Nagisa giggled and mocked him, but was ignored by Rei who was  _desperate_ to just swim already. ' _Makoto-senpai had a point',_ he thought to himself.  _'But out of all the strokes, butterfly is the least graceful of them all! Especially when the swimmers come up for air. Oh god their hideous facial expressions…'_

"I reckon the chances of me being able to swim a single style is very slim, Makoto-senpai. Plus, butterfly is widely acclaimed as the hardest one…" Rei tried to dodge the idea, but everyone was already keenly observing him with brilliant sparkly eyes overflowing with  _hope_.

"It doesn't hurt to try, Rei-chan!"

* * *

Makoto was spot-on; butterfly stroke was perfect for Rei. None of them, not even the genius himself, could explain why he so abruptly swam succesfully without sinking. It was like he had miraculously grown a pair of magical wings and acquired the ability to glide through water from thin air; Rei just went from zero to hero (not really, but still).

"Well, that was easy," the swim team captain commented as he joined the little group sitting by the poolside, intently watching Rei complete a lap. Gou was actively annotating and narrating every time Rei's deltoids/triceps/biceps flexed with heart eyes, while Haruka coolly dried his hair with a towel, indifferent expression masking the bit of satisfaction swirling in his heart.

He was happy for Rei, it seemed that Water-chan didn't actually detest the guy that much. He supposed most of the credit was due for Rei anyway; he had seen him bury his nose in a few books around during training. Rei's diligence was quite inspiring. But when Haruka thought of swimming with –or rather, against- Rin once again, his heart clenched painfully.

' _Rin… is this the way it's going to be?'_

"I'd like to express my gratitude to you, Haruka-senpai," Rei said while bowing slightly, bringing Haruka out of his deep thoughts.

 _'When did he get out of the water?'_ Haruka deadpanned. "I didn't do anything, you did all the work."

"But your advices still helped a great deal! Especially regarding the tips to reduce water resistance, they weren't in the books! It's amazing," Rei gushed, and if Haruka was not Haruka (or if he was Rin), he would've blushed at the kind words. But Haruka was indeed himself, and well, Nanase Haruka was not known to be one of many expressions.

"Water is alive. It chooses who it'll let in, who it'll wrap its arms around instead of baring its fangs and attack. The water has chosen you as well, Rei." Haruka said. "I expect you to make the best of this chance Water is giving you."

Rei's violet eyes shine with respect and admiration at his senior. He's finally one step closer to swimming beautifully, just like Haruka-senpai.

"I will!"

* * *

Things are always easier said than done.

Swimming in front of four people whom he was acquainted with (and one, in love with) provided enough mortification and embarrassment to make him want to curl into a tight ball and disappear. But tomorrow, in front of god knows how many strangers from a powerhouse boarding school famous for producing top-class national athletes? Rei had a feeling that not even an invisible cloak could provide him the comfort from all those judging stares, jeers and mocks he's sure to get.

Rei sensed his stomach churn and turn at the thought. He felt nauseous all of a sudden.

"Rin-chan's butterfly technique is superb! But because he wants to race Haru-chan, he changed to front crawl. Haru-chan and him always race against each other whenever they…" Nagisa continued to talk, voice loud over the sounds of the moving train.

"Nagisa-kun, what sort of person is this Rin-chan you always talk about?" Rei inquired, his curiosity piqued. This Rin-chan-san person was like a buried time capsule. He was gone for 4 years, no news or greetings, yet when he returned, suddenly everyone was reminiscing about the moments they shared.  _'Just like an unearthed time capsule, carrying all these memories…. without me in them.'_

"Hmm, let's see… When he smiles, his full teeth show and he looks like a shark... He smiled a lot, especially when he watched Haru-chan swim," Nagisa described, fond grin gracing his features all the while. "He's friendly, and kind, and cheerful! That's how he was back then, but now…" His smile dropped a little, and his words trailed off.

"Nagisa-kun?"

"He's just… he _changed_  a bit, I guess. You'll see. Ah, Rei-chan, why do you look so pale?!" Nagisa suddenly cried out, touching Rei's cheeks frantically.

Rei was shocked; was his anxiety that bad? "Really?"

"Yeah, you look like you're going to drop and faint any time!"

Rei frowned, his eyebrows knitting as he casted his gaze downwards. Nagisa caught this gesture and stopped freaking out, realizing that his boyfriend was just worried about something. He leaned in and bumped onto Rei's shoulder, resting his head on it and exhaling a long breath. The train jerked a bit and he edged in closer.

"Scared of tomorrow, huh?" he asked.

Rei was quick to retort. "Not scared! More like… nervous and unsure," he muttered, glancing at Nagisa. "Can I really swim, Nagisa-kun?"

"Of course you can! You're Ryuugazaki Rei, there's nothing you can't do!" Nagisa bolted upright, grabbing Rei's hands and swinging it around a little in a silly attempt of simulating the way Rei swam earlier. Then, he flashed a small smile, not his usual playful teethy grin, just a sweet upturn of pink lips, more than enough to make Rei's heart flutter and skip a few beats. "You'll do great. Trust me."

"Should I really?"

"Heyyyyy! Are you doubting me now?" Nagisa pouted, nuzzling his head onto Rei's arm while the blue-haired boy chuckled. The nervousness was gone momentarily, but it came haunting Rei again when he laid down to sleep that night.

For now, Rei could only hope that Nagisa would be right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters now are far longer than they were when I first started this fic. Is that a good thing? :')


	13. Samezuka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samezuka Academy is a terrifying place to be in. Rei is fascinated by his boyfriend's swimming, and finally gets to meet 'Rin-chan-san'.

Rei didn't know what to expect when he strolled into the gates of one of the most renowned and prestigious boarding school in Japan with nothing but a one-day experience of swimming  _without_ sinking in the water like a complete moron.

Samezuka Academy was different. Anyone who had been to any swimming tournament in the country would know the condescending and powerful aura they exude, the chills that ran down the audience's spines when the team's united cheers and chants resounded. But Rei had never attended any, and so was oblivious to how much influence the school had on the field of competitive swimming.

They walked into the pool complex (the school had a  _separate building_ housing the swimming club's training facilities, that's enough proof of how serious Samezuka was about winning) and Rei gasped at the sight that greeted him. Besides the enormity of the Olympic-sized pool that stretched far across in a beautiful glittering blue, Rei was, above all, captivated by the sheer amount of students flooding the place. There were boys  _everywhere_  –sprinting in the water, stretching beside the pool, getting ready on the platforms- just about any direction he turned, his vision was filled with members of Samezuka's swim club.

It was such a contrast compared to their small party of five. Makoto-senpai did mention something about the school having a lot of young aspiring swimmers hoping to get scouted, so Rei had imagined thirty, forty people or so… But  _this_? This was outrageous.

Rei could feel his blood running cold. The promise he had made to Haruka-senpai about not letting Water down appeared so hard to fulfill now.

Speaking of Haruka-senpai, it seemed that for once he was able to keep his blazing lust for Water in check without needing any intervention from Makoto-senpai. _'That's good_ ,' Rei thought, doubting that the Samezuka team captain would be delighted to see a student from another school happily monopolizing the pool, treating it like his own private bathtub.

"Rei-chan! Come on, let's change our clothes~"

"Umm, Nagisa-kun, I don't feel so good…"

Rei was saved from being dragged to the nearest bathroom when a loud "Gou-kuuuuunnn!" resounded. A tall, crimson-haired boy with an impressive display of well-sculpted muscles and a stupid love-struck grin waved at the group enthusiastically, making his way towards them. Rei had to do a double take because he  _swore_ he could see a tail wagging behind the cheerful young man.

"Mikoshiba-kun," Gou greeted sweetly, though the forced smile on her face suggested otherwise. Rei had a feeling that the two had met a few times before, seeing as the guy had the guts (and balls) to actually add a –kun to their club manager's already boyish name.

Gou could be intimidating and downright  _terrifying_  if she wanted to. Rei knew this from firsthand experience.

"I'd like you to meet the members of Iwatobi High Swimming Club. Makoto-senpai is our captain," Gou continued their introduction, not bothering to correct Mikoshiba's nickname given to her on his own accord. "Haruka-senpai is the vice-captain, and these are Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun."

The four of them bowed simultaneously, and by now Rei was trying hard refraining from throwing up. He was already feeling sick in his stomach; the action only aggravated the situation.

"I'm Mikoshiba Seijuurou, pleased to meet you. I hope we can learn from each other," The redhead spoke with poise and confidence befitting the captain of a powerhouse team, nodding politely at them. Then, he immediately turned to Gou and all of a sudden the previous professional image vanished into thin air, leaving behind a big infatuated puppy (' _yeap, that's a tail alright'_ ). "So Gou-kun I was wondering if you're free this Sat—"

"Senpai, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Captain Mikoshiba was cut off by the sounds of a petite, silver-haired boy noisily tripping over a second year stretching his legs on the floor, apologizing repeatedly with a furious blush on his cheeks. Mikoshiba shook his head, smiling fondly at his junior's antics. Having such a large club under his watch came with lots of responsibilities, and it looked like he couldn't afford flirting right now. Nope… 'Operation Winning Gou's Heart' would have to wait.

' _Looks like it's back to serious business.'_

"Everyone! Listen up!" The Samezuka captain clapped his hands twice in the air, instantly gaining his members' attention. "We're conducting a joint practice Iwatobi with High today, so I want you to get into the lines now. We need four timekeepers. Nitori!"

The clumsy boy from earlier came running obediently, shouting a proud but shaky 'Yes, sir!' When he reached their spot, Nagisa noticed that he was standing almost eye-to-eye with Nitori. ' _Finally, finally there's someone of my size! And with such an adorable feminine face too!'_

"Show them to the changing room. There's no time to waste," Mikoshiba instructed, before Nagisa even got the chance to say hello to the pretty boy who shared his 'fate of a shota'.

Oh well, that could wait for later.

* * *

The Samezuka swimmers truly lived up to their reputation. Their swiftness and agility were admirable, and Rei watched in awe as each of them dove into the pool with ease and swam to the other side in their own preferred style.

Rei was beginning to forget how to breathe.

Even sitting for Calculus test was never this nerve-wracking; then again, he was an ace at numbers so there was nothing to get worked up on. Sneaking a glance at Nagisa through the corner of his eyes didn't help much, because the breaststroker seemed to possess nerves of steel and was now jumping up and down in anticipation, stretching his arms and legs oh so casually.

Their eyes met for a brief instance. Nagisa winked cutely at him and sent a flying kiss like it's nothing, and Rei spluttered, coughing loudly into his fist.

"Ryuugazaki! Stop fooling around and just get in the line already!" Mikoshiba urged, blowing the whistle once. Startled, Rei nodded slightly and did as told, fixing his goggles in the process. Nagisa was still stifling his giggles.

"Tachibana, now is Iwatobi's turn," Mikoshiba said, wearing a proud and triumphant grin with a challenging side to it. "Let's see how you guys measure up to  _my_ boys."

"Go for it, Rei-chan!" Nagisa whispered dramatically. "Show 'em what you've got!" Just then, his mischevious hand delivered a hard slap to his boyfriend's ass. Rei choked on empty air.

"W-what was that for?!"

Nagisa simply stuck out a tongue at him and giggled.  _That brat._

Rei was about to break into a lengthy lecture of public morals and decency (not that Nagisa ever listened anyway) when he barely registered the loud splash made by Makoto-senpai's dive.

Makoto-senpai's breath capacity fell short compared to the other two swimmers in adjacent lanes as he resurfaced a few milliseconds earlier, but his strong strokes make up for it. Samezuka backstrokers had nothing on him; he was  _fast_ , and extremely efficient. Rei observed how each of Makoto's stretch of hand propelled his body a good few meters more, giving him the far and obvious lead. With another quarter of the 100m left for Makoto to complete, Nagisa stood on the platform, getting ready for his turn.

It was then that the realization hit Rei harder than a solid brick smacked to his face.

He had never watched Nagisa swim. As in, the  _really swimming_ kind of swim.

All those times during practice, they were more focused on striving to teach Rei, and even when Nagisa was swimming, Rei'd never paid full, undivided attention like he was doing now.

There's a different air to Nagisa when he's being serious. The chatterbox Hazuki Nagisa– always aloof, borderline idiotic smile in place, leaping here and there like a supernova waiting to happen- was nowhere to be found.

Makoto reached the opposite end of the vast pool, the timekeeper yelled ' _next!'_ and a split second later, Nagisa lunged in for the dive.

At that very moment, Rei's world stopped spinning on its axis.

Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Putting his outrageously bright swimming trunk aside, there was nothing faulty with the way Nagisa swam. He was shorter than most (Rei was willing to bet 100 yen that he was indeed the  _shortest)_ , even when compared with fellow first-years, so his dive didn't get him far. But his strokes, god, his strokes -they were energetic, powerful and wonderfully executed and  _how on earth did he catch up so fast?_

Nagisa overtook one swimmer, then another, and by then Rei had known he was staring; he could actually  _feel_ his hair stand on end, jaw growing slack and dropping dramatically not unlike in the manga his classmates so keenly read. There was a significant gap left behind the breaststroke swimmer now as he marched on impeccably.

It was easily the most beautiful sight Rei had ever seen in his sixteen years of living.

In fact, it was so beautiful, he even forgot that he was to go next. When Nagisa touched the plate on the far end, there was a deafening whistle that blew. Everyone expected the next person -who happened to be Rei- to dive into the pool without delay. Upon the dawning apprehension that everyone was now staring at  _him_ , Rei fumbled and scrambled in place clumsily, finally taking the leap…

…and falling into the water straight on his face.

"Ouch, that must hurt like hell," Mikoshiba remarked, cringing a little. Makoto's colour had drained from his face as they waited for Rei to resurface.

"Umm, Makoto-senpai, I think we should—"

Before Gou could finish her sentence, however, Haruka was already in the water, on his way to save Rei's sorry ass (who afterwards defended the notion that no, he was most definitely  _not_ sinking, just molding himself to be one with water and… stuff. Yeah.)

"Looks like we still have a lot to work on…"

* * *

Eventually, Rei had very little swimming done, just playing the role of a frowning bystander and sometimes the substitute timekeeper. That actually had an advantage; he was able to spend more time watching people (or Nagisa, mostly), but the disgruntled feeling that settled in his heart didn't go away. Even more so as throughout the training, not once did he see the 'Rin-chan' whom Nagisa was going on about.

But by the end of the day, Rei could conclude that Matsuoka Rin was, to put it bluntly,  _intense_.

The guy didn't actually turn up for the joint practice. Captain Mikoshiba explained that he was probably off brooding somewhere ('brooding' was the exact word he used, not sulking or moping, but  _brooding_ ), an occurrence that'd become some sort of a norm in the past few days. Gou also revealed that her older brother hadn't been picking up her calls or replying her messages.

' _There it was again,'_   Rei noticed.  _'The miserable and dejected faces they make when talking about him…'_

How a person could leave such significant impact on others even in his absence was incomprehensible to Rei, but he understood that Rin must've been a dear friend to them.

They thanked, bid farewell to Captain Mikoshiba and headed home, but barely a few meters away from stepping out from Samezuka's main gates, Rei was struck by the realization that he had forgotten something very,  _very_ important.

His underwear.

He left his freaking  _underwear,_ and in a  _high school_  no less _._

"What's wrong, Rei?" Makoto stopped walking and asked, noticing his junior's fidgeting and increasingly distraught expression.

"Ah, I think I left my unde- um, I mean," Rei paused, clearing his throat.  _Don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious!_ "I need to take something. You can go ahead, I will be right back."

There's no way in hell he'd let anyone -especially Nagisa- know that he left his underwear in the bathroom of another school. The last time he'd let slip a fragment of his shameful past (which also involved a piece of forsaken underwear), Nagisa poked fun at him the whole week at every chance he got. Knowing the teasing nature of the blonde, Rei was sure Nagisa would never let him live it down. Heck, he might even bring it up in the middle of a passionate making out session and kill the mood!

' _N-not that I've ever imagined that, you know… that we'd m-m-make out or something like that!'_

Makoto seemed to buy the lousy excuse and with a chirpy "Okay!", went ahead with the others. It was then -as Rei dashed to the bathroom to rescue his forgotten undies- that he passed by someone standing beside the door, arms crossed and looking fairly pissed like he'd just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

It's common sense to not approach a person with such a glum and distressed appearance, unless you're the trouble-seeking kind of guy. Rei was definitely not one, so he decided to ignore him.

Unfortunately, the maroon-haired boy had other ideas.

"Hey, Speedo Glasses," he called out.

Rei turned around, and was met with a pair of dark gloomy eyes. They were crimson, bearing obvious similarities with Gou's, but sharper.  _'Perhaps this is Rin-chan-san?'_ Rei wondered. "I beg your pardon. Are you by any chance referring to  _me_?"

"You see anyone else around here?"

Rei shook his head slowly, and the boy chuckled. His teeth glinted under the lights, further accentuating the unusual sharp points.  _'Like a shark… '_ Rei thought, immediately convinced that this man  _is_ the famous Matsuoka Rin.

"Go figure. Yea, I was talking about you, Speedo Glasses. So, you're the new kid Nagisa brought in?"

"It's Ryuugazaki Rei," the bespectacled boy corrected, annoyed with the horrendous nickname he'd just received. As if the constant –chan coming from Nagisa wasn't humiliating enough. "And yes, I am. Not a kid, that is, but the new swimming protégé or a young rising star, to put it simply."

"You're quite the funny guy," Rin said, clearly still amused with Rei's apparent confidence. "Your butterfly sucks, by the way. Easily the worst I've ever seen."

"I am aware, but that does not warrant you the right to rub it in my face. I  _will_  get better. With practice, hardwork and determination."

"You have the spirit. We'll see in the coming tournament," Rin muttered, falling into silence. Rei almost took it as a cue for him to leave when the boy suddenly asked, voice low and unsure. "How're they doing?"

"By they, you meant…"

"You know damn well who I meant," the Samezuka swimmer snapped. "Haru… Is he keeping in shape?"

Rei couldn't hide the surprise on his face. At first he contemplated on answering, worried that his replies would cause any more conflict between them, but alas, he settled for a vague response. "Better than you might think."

"And Makoto? Still looking like a giant lost kitten?"

"Well, I've never seen him in that light before, so I'm not sure… He's doing alright, I guess."

"I assume Nagisa is the usual 5-year old, then?" Rin asked, and the soft smile that bloomed for a split second on his face did not go undetected. Rei suddenly felt bad for the boy in front of him, and guilty for judging him without basis. Emotions are tough, Rei knew this from his readings; sometimes people tend to bottle things up inside and even when they care, they cannot convey their true feelings. Sometimes people say things they don't mean, do things they know might be wrong.  _'Maybe Rin-chan-san is also having the same problem…'_ He nodded as a reply, and Rin let out a small sigh.

"Okay then," he said, gesturing towards the male toilet with a smirk on his previously sullen face. "Your speedo is in the third cubicle, by the way. Interesting choice of colours, I must say." Then he walked away, leaving behind a dumbstruck and horribly embarrassed Rei.

"Rin-chan-san!" The ex-pole vaulter shouted out (he purposely used the nickname to get back at Rin for calling him 'Speedo Glasses',  _what kind of name is that anyway?_ ), but Rin did not turn around, merely stopping mid-step to listen. "What's your real intention for returning from Australia?"

Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, Rin clucked his tongue, squared his shoulders and proceeded to walk forward, offering only a single sentence.

"I have my reasons."

* * *

"Hmmm… Rei-chan sure is taking some time… I wonder what's holding him back," Nagisa said, kicking a pebble and watching it bounce once, twice, before landing in a small puddle on the sidewalk. It was raining while they were inside, and now that it had stopped, the grounds were covered with countless puddles of glistening water.

Haruka's cerulean eyes were fixed on a larger wet patch just next to his feet. "If he's not back in five, I will miss my date with Water-chan," he said.

"Haru, it's just a bath. You can take it later."

"No. You don't understand. Bath time is a special moment between us. It's more…  _private_ ," Haruka retorted. His fellow teammates winced at the disturbing imagery the word gave. "If I'm late, Water might not want to accept me anymore."

"Haru, please."

"It's okay guys, let me go and look for Rei-chan!"

"Wait, Nagisa! You don't have to—" Gou tried to stop him, but before long, the breaststroke swimmer was already bolting back inside the school's compound. Both the Iwatobi captain and manager released a long sigh; they knew that the last thing you'd want is having someone search for another person in such a huge, unfamiliar place. Add a grumpy and angry Haruka to that equation, and Makoto could feel a strong headache coming through.

' _Just another day in the life of an Iwatobi swim team member.'_

* * *

"Rei-chan… Come on, pick up your phone…" Nagisa mumbled into his cell, searching high and low for his 'lost' boyfriend. Unfortunately, the boy had his phone on silent (Rei mentioned something about common courtesy and discipline during practice), which left Nagisa running around, eventually arriving at the sports complex again. Shoving his phone back in his pocket after a few failed attempts, he accidentally overheard a few voices talking.

"Did you see the Specs' swimsuit? I mean, I could tolerate that it's neon yellow, but the design…" The boy paused, then instantly erupting into unstoppable guffaws and chortles. "The design is just horrible! You noticed the stupid penguin on his butt?"

"Yeah, I wonder what was going through his mind when he bought it… Pfft—"

"He must be colour blind or something. Or maybe his taste is just that bad! Hahaha!"

Nagisa's eyes narrowed.

He turned around excruciatingly slow to face the still talking boys, carving a bright, innocent grin. He recognized them; they were at the joint practice earlier, the rowdy bunch of second-years always huddled together in a corner, possibly badmouthing others just like they were currently doing.

But of course, they'd chosen the wrong person to talk about this time.

The Samezuka boys saw him walking towards them but they didn't react, possibly passing him as harmless. What could a short, scrawny little kid who looked no different from a middle-schooler could do to them anyway? Throw a tantrum? Threaten to call the  _teacher_?

Oh, how wrong could they be.

"He didn't buy it," Nagisa stated, sunshine smile dropping little by little. " ** _I_** _did_."

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

Nagisa was not gonna lie; it felt  _fantastic_ to 'exercise' his knuckles a bit now and then.

It's been a long, long while since the last time he saw that look coming from people whose fates and lives hang from a single thread –it was the look of pure fear, the kind that a helpless deer portrays when its predator viciously sinks teeth into its neck. The boys weren't going to report him, Nagisa knew. Doing so would only exacerbate the blow their shattered prides received from getting battered by a seemingly wimpy swimmer from a rival school.

He hadn't done much actually, just left a couple of bruises here and there that're bound to turn an angry shade of purple tomorrow. Maybe a fracture or two.

He'd done a lot worse.

' _So I haven't lost my touch after all. That's good to know. It still hurts a bit though…'_

He returned to the gates after receiving a call seconds later from Mako-chan, saying that Rei's already back. They stopped by Iwatobi High for a short rest before returning to their own homes, Haruka glaring at everything and complaining about 'getting dumped' and 'late for date'.

"My apologies for holding you up, I encountered some… difficulties, along the way. That aside, Nagisa-kun, what's wrong with your hand?"

The blonde froze. Sometimes, having an extremely observant boyfriend had its shortcomings.

"Nothing, really! I just knocked into the wall, yeah… By the way! Rei-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, hoping to distract him off his reddish fists. "You're free this Saturday?"

"Nagisa-kun… I have to do revision for the upcoming test, on top of studying and internalizing theories. You saw what happened during training just now, right? My dive was far from perfect. I'm not happy about that."

"If it's just the dive, leave it to me! I may look small, but my dive is powerful, you know!" The bubbly blonde coaxed, relentlessly tugging and latching onto Rei's arm like a hungry leech on a hiker's leg. "Come on… Let's go shop for some new swimsuit."

Upon hearing the proposition, Rei's ears perked up. "Well, that sounds productive, and I do have that planned in my agenda—"

"Oh, are you guys going shopping this Saturday?" Makoto suddenly cut in, warm gentle smile gracing his features. His still dripping hair suggested that he's fresh from the showers. "I'm glad! Haru and I also wanted to go, he's been complaining about the 'fit' of his swimming trunks all day—"

Makoto paused, noticing the look Nagisa was giving him. He knew his friends well - _very well_ , in fact- and so could more or less read and distinguish the expressions they wear during conversations. Some he could even engage in a wordless, purely eye-contact based communication with, like Haru and on much rarer instances Nagisa. Currently, the chipper blonde was staring at him like he would a cone of strawberry gelato or a box of French fries, face scrunching up in disapproval.  _'Mako-chan, don't come, don't come!'_

So that's what the look was saying.

As sharp as ever, Makoto caught on.

"—buuuuuut maybe we can go on another day. Eheheh… Alright then, enjoy yourselves!" Makoto scratched the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly, giving friendly encouraging pats on his juniors' shoulders. Nagisa sneaked a thumbs up from behind an oblivious Rei's head, to which the olive-haired boy reciprocated with a knowing smile.

"So it's going to be just the two of us…" Rei muttered when Makoto-senpai was finally out of sight. He noticed that they're getting more and more 'alone time' these days; maybe they'd found out about the not-so-platonic love he and Nagisa shared?

' _Oh no, are we being too obvious?!'_

"Yaaaaay! It's a date, then!" Nagisa cheered, doing some sort of a happy dance that would surely look idiotic if performed by anyone other than him. He tiptoed to press a lingering kiss on Rei's lips, and through the playful nibbles, licks and soft sighs, somehow Rei found his arms winding around Nagisa's waist. A perfect fit, like always.

Rei had a feeling that that the 'date' had been the cheeky boy's plan all along, but still, his heart swelled at the prospect of spending a day with his… umm, his… lover.

' _But a date… I've never had one before. What should I do?_ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe Eternal Summer is ending already. Time flies :'(  
> Tell me where you think they'd have their first date! Next chap is probably gonna have some sexytime (it's been too long hasn't it, heheh)


End file.
